Intrigues of a Princess
by Aerika S
Summary: Third part of the trilogy. In postwar Gaea, Eries Aston navigates a tricky political landscape, copes with Celena Schezar's 'eccentricities', tries not to meddle in her sister's marriage and deals with some stuff with some guy named Allen. COMPLETE.
1. When I Look at the World

Intrigues of a Princess

Prologue: When I Look at the World

Fall was settling into Asturia early this year, threatening to cut short Eries' farewells to the distinguished psychologist who had been her guest during the summer. More accurately, Dr. Atrineu had been a guest at the Schezar estate, Eries had simply been the patron of his visit here, but that hardly mattered. It was her pleasure to give him a warm sendoff, even in the face of fierce chill winds that caused the leviships in the dockyard to rock ominously in their moorings and made the warm part physically impossible.

Dr. Atrineu was a man of the mind though and could appreciate the sentiment. He'd appreciate it more once safely aboard the leviship bound for his native country of Egzardia. Short and lean with thinning grey hair that conveyed his elderly status a bit too clearly, the doctor was having a time of it just staying upright. He envied Eries' height and her rigid posture that wouldn't have wavered in a hurricane, at least one of the weaker ones. Dr. Atrineu had learned early on in their acquaintance that once Eries Aston had set her mind on something, it was damned hard to alter her course. The forces of nature would have to put up a harder fight than strong winds to make her back down.

Eries' accoutrements however, were easier targets. A gust sent her hat flying and let loose her long strands of silver-blonde hair. The palace guard that had escorted them here took off in pursuit. Dr. Atrineu smiled in spite of the chill, knowing Eries wouldn't care about something trivial such as losing a hat and figuring the odds for a successful retrieval hovered close to none. Eries had similar thoughts, as she called to the guard not to bother, but the young man had already run far enough away that the wind swallowed her words before they reached him.

Seeing the doctor's smile, she formed one of her own. "He certainly has all the eagerness of one new to his duties, doesn't he?"

"Eagerness isn't a bad thing, assuming he learns how to temper it with common sense," Dr. Atrineu replied. "Then again, that might be a big assumption," he added as the guard nearly fell trying to pounce on the errant hat.

"I should have my former guard speak with him. It might be easier for him to learn common sense if he has a good teacher."

Dr. Atrineu's smiled widened. Along with her resolve, he also admired Eries' desire to help those around her. Professionally, he thought that desire had some controlling qualities to it. Personally, he recognized it as a sincere wish for the best for those she cared about it. And since Eries was not his patient, he could and gladly did dismiss any misgivings. "A good mentor can be invaluable," he agreed.

Dr. Atrineu watched the guard for a few more moments, but his interest in finding out if the young man would ever claim his prize wasn't going to stop the wind from blowing or keep the leviship from taking off at the scheduled time. He reluctantly took his leave. Bowing as much as his old back would allow, he pledged to return once his business in Egzardia was wrapped up. "Hopefully, that will be soon. I've never really had much interest in the business side of my school but if I don't take care of it, none of the teaching can get done."

Eries nodded. As a princess well-versed in politics, she had all the insight she would ever need into Dr. Atrineu's situation. "If you need any assistance, all you have to do is ask. I'm not the only one anticipating a swift return."

"Ah, you must be referring to the senior Schezar because I believe Miss Celena will be happy to be rid of me," Dr. Atrineu laughed. "She'll be free from questions for a few weeks."

_Free from your questions, at least, _Eries thought. She was sure Celena's brother would be able to provide an ample supply of his own. Much as Allen had changed over the past months, his protective streak remained firmly intact. Fortunately, Celena didn't mind questions from either brother or doctor. They gave her something to tease the two men about. "You know she's fond of you. She'll probably want to come to the dockyard when you come back."

Though it was originally the uniqueness of Celena's background and the potential goldmine an analysis of her psyche would be to his field that had lured him to Asturia, Dr. Atrineu had grown rather fond of the girl as well. He saw her less as a patient than as a reminder of his own daughters at Celena's age. His children had never experienced an ordeal remotely like what Celena had experienced, which made the Schezar girl even more remarkable in his opinion. He thought it would be quite nice to be greeted by her when his flight disembarked.

Of course, he'd have to leave first before he could come back. After giving another final farewell, Dr. Atrineu boarded the leviship, just missing the return of the guard with Eries' hat in hand.

The guard seemed proud of his achievement so Eries thanked him as if he had performed a great service for her. Eries would have felt cruel doing anything else. He was such an earnest looking young man, with freckles liberally spotting a round face under strawberry-blond hair. Normally, he kept the hair tucked neatly under his feathered guardsmen's cap but the wind had decided he would look better with a more disheveled style. Eries had to agree. If only the wind could do something with the way he talked to her. 'Prim' was how she would have described it. A friend of hers had insisted upon 'prissy' and other choice words Eries herself was too proper to use.

"I live to serve, your majesty," he said. "I await your further orders."

It wasn't so much that he liked to do things by the book. It was that his book was apparently written a century ago by a man so subservient, the book's spine was stronger than the author's. Eries tried picturing her former guard, Alucier, ever uttering the words 'I live to serve' to her without it being a joke. She failed. She tried picturing Alucier watching this guard say those words to her without making a joke. She failed at that too. "Please, there's no need to be so formal, Sedge…wick," she said, fumbling over the last part of his name due to an unfortunate nickname assigned to him by the same friend who found Sedgewick so prissy. Dashir Revius would have hurt himself laughing at this little display.

The guard misunderstood the cause of her stammering. "It's Timothy Sedgewick, your majesty," he replied sharply. "And I apologize if I offended you."

"No, Sedgewick, you didn't offend me," Eries sighed. It was going to be a long ride back to the palace. This was Sedgewick's second week and somehow he was actually getting even stiffer in his manner instead of easing into the job. By the end of the month, he was likely to be walking around in a permanent bow.

He was already part the way there. He kept his head down as he walked her back to the carriage, as he opened the door, as he lent his arm to her in case Eries was too feeble to walk up the three small steps into the carriage all by herself and as he boarded the carriage. Because he was looking down, he misjudged the height of the carriage and smacked his head against the doorframe.

She really should ask Alucier to have a talk with him, assuming he could find the time. He'd been a busy little Knight Caeli since returning from his hometown, Dunhaven, to attend his sister's wedding. After spending seven years as Eries' private guard, he had decided to pursue a new post: the commander of the Caeli. He needed to do more than want it though; getting the nod the replace the retiring Lord Ramkin was going to take substantial effort on his part. Eries was very supportive of his decision, so supportive that she had only stared at him in stunned silence for a few seconds after he asked to be released from his duty to her before giving her blessing. She understood the logic of the request. To be commander, he had to show he could command. Alucier had performed remarkably well, heroically even, during the brief war with Zaibach, but there had to be other good performances on his record to prove the first one wasn't a fluke.

His current duties had him splitting time between heading security over the areas of Palas still under reconstruction and coordinating the security for the work crews Asturia was sending to Freid to help with that country's reconstruction effort. All the work he was doing would look awfully impressive when it came time to pick the new commander but in the meanwhile, Alucier didn't have much time to sleep let alone have a chat with a young guard who took his job too seriously.

Eries knew if she asked Alucier, he would find a way to make the time, which is why she resolved not to. A selfish part of her missed having her dear friend around and wanted things back to the way they were. The rest of her knew that other part was a spoiled brat. Complaining about the new guy would just make Alucier feel guilty about quitting and she did not want that. He was leaving behind a cushy post to take a chance to get what he wanted, the least she could do is be a big girl and take care of the problem herself.

Things change. It was foolish to deny it and childish to refuse to embrace it – especially when some changes were for the better. True, one of her closest friends had moved away from her recently, but an old friend, Allen, had come back. They were closer than ever before and not just because Eries had been instrumental in persuading Dr. Atrineu to work with Celena.

Another positive change was her relationship with her sister. For the first time in their lives, they were treating each other as equals. Eries hadn't heard Millerna call her unfair in months and doubted she'd be hearing that accusation anytime soon. Millerna, on the other hand, hadn't had to listen to Eries tell her how selfish she was being for the same duration. They were still stubborn, they didn't always agree, but now when a disagreement did arise, they talked about it. Millerna had actually sought Eries' advice once or twice and Eries had asked her to return the favor.

It helped that their main conflict had become a moot point. Millerna's main opponent to her medical studies, their father, King Aston, had decided that maybe it wasn't such a bad idea to have a healer for a daughter after all. He had arrived at this conclusion after living under the constant care of the royal physicians following a stroke he had suffered. Their bedside manner, an odd combination of professional arrogance and subservience, had not impressed the king. Aston thought they treated him like a very important child, whereas Millerna never talked down to him with medical jargon. The doctors wanted him to lie abed like an invalid. Millerna would let him get up and go around as befitting a man of his stature. And when he had to sit down and go back to bed sooner than he had expected to, Millerna never once even implied that she had told him so.

Their father a staunch supporter of Millerna learning all she could (especially anything concerning the treatment of stroke victims), Eries no longer felt any obligation to put a stop to them either. Besides, her main objection had always been Millerna's tendency to forget she was a princess first and foremost, and she could only be a doctor a distant second. Though Millerna still doubted how far away the latter priority was away from the former, she had agreed with Eries about the order. So now she was doing as Eries had done when she was on the council, using her status to promote her interest to the benefit of everyone, not just herself.

To do this, Millerna had enlisted her father-in-law, Meiden Fassa, to aid her cause. It was unclear whether or not he could still be called her father-in-law as his son, Dryden, had given his wedding ring back to Millerna, but Meiden was never one to let something as trivial as an estranged marriage get in the way of getting influence with powerful people. No matter how much the rest of the world had changed, that was the one constant Eries could rely on.

Not that Meiden had to do much grabbing to have power. King Aston hadn't yet recovered to the point where he was ready to resume the throne (even under the more lenient Millerna standards). With Dryden abdicating his title of Prince Regent, that would have left Eries, the oldest living princess, at the head of the country – if Asturian laws didn't expressly forbid a woman from ruling alone. So instead of having a woman born and raised in the world of politics lead, a council, with Meiden occupying its highest rank, took the reins. An even more annoying irony was the fact that Eries had served on the very same council up until her father had removed her at the start of the conflict with Zaibach.

It was a position Eries had every intention of resuming. She was only fifteen when she attended her first council meeting and over the years, had developed a sense for politics every bit as keen as her male counterparts. The other council members knew it too. They might have mistaken her presence there in the beginning as the king humoring his silly daughter but after some spirited displays of her debating skills, they stopped underestimating her pretty quickly. They had to lest Eries' agendas overtake their own.

Unfortunately, there was a downside to being an effective advocate. Her agendas did often conflict with the merchants and old lords comprising the rest of the council and as such, those men weren't terribly sad to see her go. Eries could easily picture Meiden having enjoyed a victory glass of vino or, at the least, having a long, hearty laugh when he got the news. She was respected but not missed.

To get back on the council, she'd have to do some work of her own. The councilmen had a million excuses to keep her off; she'd have to come up with one reason that couldn't be refuted by any of them. As loathe as she was to exploit it, her father's continued illness was her best angle. An Aston needed to be in some sort of command. There was something inherently wrong with Asturia being ruled without the input of a member of the royal family. That wasn't just familial arrogance on her part either. Asturians loved their traditions and it didn't get much more traditional a king in his palace. Or a princess in her father's palace.

Whichever, the people wanted to know the throne was strong. That meant Asturia was strong. After being humbled by Zaibach before the war, strength was more important than ever. Change was spreading throughout the entire world of Gaea. Zaibach's military was crippled during the war but the country that did most of the crippling, Basram, did it by dropping an Energist bomb. That single act changed the political landscape more than all the wars of the past century. An Energist bomb was a weapon of such magnitude, it simply erased everything within its range. In theory, they weren't hard to make. Any country with a sufficient Energist supply could make one. What made Basram so frightening was that they actually used the accursed thing. Gaea had seemingly traded a devil it knew for a devil it didn't.

Diplomats from Basram were working extra hard to keep their country from taking Zaibach's place. They'd been ready in lending aid for reconstruction and very vocal in their support of the new world treaty that had been proposed by the alliance that had fought Zaibach. They'd even offered to host the summit in which the treaty would be drafted. They had been turned down. The more centrally located (and less threatening) Asturia had been chosen instead.

Eries knew how important this summit would be for the world and, since it was only a week away, how important it could be for her. King Aston wasn't going to be back to his old, formidable self in a few short days. Asturia could hardly go to the negotiating table with only a rich merchant to represent them. That fact gave her what she needed – her one, un-refutable reason.

All that was left was to present it to the council. Eries had been very careful in timing when to do it. Too early and they might accuse her of doubting her father's recovery. Too late and they would tell her there was no time to change the plans they had already carefully crafted. She had narrowed her choices down to two. If the market reports being delivered tomorrow morning were positive, she'd take advantage of the good mood Meiden and the other councilmen would be in and approach them then. If those reports were bad, she'd let them spend tomorrow working themselves into a frenzy making sure their own assets were protected, then approach them the next day to take advantage of their exhausted state.

With the current state of affairs, Eries believed it would be tomorrow. As the summit proved, Gaea was rebuilding. To rebuild, countries needed material. Merchants had that material and, after substantial markups, were happy to part with it. Rebuilding also took labor, which meant more people had more money to spend on the other things merchants stocked. So while the countries doing most of the rebuilding, Freid and Fanelia, were dipping into their treasuries to cover costs, merchants all around the world were watching their savings grow.

Most of them were, anyway. Eries took some satisfaction that Dryden Fassa had garnered a reputation for underselling his competition, which had an overall effect of keeping prices down anywhere his small fleet appeared. Those appearances, however, were few and far between, and no closer than the outskirts of Asturia. Whether Dryden was avoiding clashing with Meiden or wasn't ready to face Millerna until he lived up to his promise to be worthy of her was unknown. Meiden had sent messenger after messenger in pursuit of his son, but even the ones who managed to catch up with him had little news to offer. Dryden would send them back with brief notes explaining he was busy and would be in touch when he could, but not much else.

The elder Fassa was less than pleased with these responses. Millerna had confided in Eries that Meiden had told her he had thought about flat out abducting Dryden and dragging him back to Asturia. While that would be an entertaining spectacle, in the long run, Eries thought it would accomplish exactly nothing. Dryden would only take off again the second the opportunity presented itself. Eries had dismissed the plan as ridiculous. Given that she hadn't heard about any kidnapping attempts on the former prince regent of Asturia, Meiden must have come to that same conclusion. It was only as she reflected on it now that Eries realized that Millerna had not made any comment on it.

Millerna didn't say much about Dryden in general. She spoke even less about Allen. Eries respectfully tried to not bring the subject up, a difficult thing to do given how much time she was spending in his company. She wanted to know if Millerna still harbored any romantic feelings for the knight but she honored the new tone of their relationship and didn't pry. She figured Millerna's silence was an answer in and of itself. If she were truly over Allen, she wouldn't have a problem talking about him. As it was, Millerna didn't seem all that enthused to hear what a wonderful day Eries had had out at the Schezar manor, especially since it was wonderful day after wonderful day after wonderful day. Eries wasn't going to judge her sister if she did still love Allen. Eries had been in love with him since the age of fifteen before her feelings had settled into a deep affection for a dear friend. And even now, there were times when they were together and something he would say or do would set Eries to wondering.

She didn't fret over these musings as she had in the past. An idle thought was hardly cause for alarm. She well remembered when the thoughts weren't idle but constant and numerous and how they had frozen her, forced her to hide what she felt and waste so much time and energy arguing with herself over what to do with them. She had literally spent years fostering her longing in secret, afraid they'd come to light and even more afraid they'd forever remain hidden. She considered those days happily over. Eries knew what she felt for Allen, was comfortable with it. No more quiet pining for her.

_Even if it came to it_, she thought with amusement, _falling back in love with Allen wouldn't put me anywhere I haven't been. Only now, I'd be older and wiser for all that melodrama._

That she was able to laugh about it and then go on to think of other things was another of those changes she'd been contemplating. To be honest, her thoughts had drifted to Allen's sister, Celena, but only because she had caught sight of Dr. Atrineu's leviship through the carriage window.

Eries shared the doctor's fondness for her. Celena didn't act like anyone else Eries knew, but then, Celena _wasn't_ like anyone else she knew. Kidnapped as a small child, experimented on until she became an entirely different person and then returned to her brother years later without any memory of what had happened to her, Celena's life story could fill a series of books – books which Celena would find horribly boring before putting them down to wander off to do something more interesting.

Having turned sixteen almost two months ago on the eighth of Red, Celena looked the part of a proper, young Asturia lady. When she felt like it, she could act the part too. Her acting abilities left something to be desired as Celena had a hard time maintaining them for very long. She simply found her performances too funny. Eries found them somewhat less endearing, mostly because the majority of Celena's act had been derived from copying Eries' mannerisms. Eries was a princess for Jichia's sake; she couldn't help that she'd been instilled since birth with a fierce sense of etiquette. Of course, there wasn't any malice at all in any of Celena's imitations, the girl was genuinely amused by such things as the existence of six different types of forks to use at dinner and the inability of nobility to announce themselves when they arrived. Eries had to admit Celena had every right to mock these conventions, but a proper lady didn't revel in absurdities, they ignored them with a polite smile.

Celena's smile wasn't polite. It was wide, innocent, warm and frequently used. It made propriety seem stodgy and useless and any desire to turn it into something else faded upon sight. It charmed everyone who saw it, from an Egzardian psychologist to the jaded soldiers under Allen's command, and it let Celena get away with pretty much everything.

Eries had been strict to the point of overbearing when she'd been trying to keep Millerna in line. Allen's opinions on how an Asturian lady should behave were heavily influenced by his mother's decorous, if not old fashioned ways. Yet neither of them could bring themselves to apply the concept of discipline to Celena, despite Dr. Atrineu's assurances that they should. "Children need discipline," he had told them.

But it was hard to quantify Celena as a child. She looked, if anything, slightly older than her chronological age. She had inherited her mother's grayish hair and pale skin. Her eyes were the deep blue that had graced the Schezar family for generations. All together, she was an attractive young woman. On the days when she, Eries and Allen would go into Palas together, she did attract her share of attention, disproportionately from males.

It was harder to quantify her as an adult. Without any memory of growing up, in a very real way, she hadn't. Eries wouldn't put her at the five-year-old she was when she had been kidnapped, but she wouldn't put Celena near her actual age either. Somewhere in the middle her behavior lied. Dr. Atrineu found it fascinating. He assured Allen it was to be expected. You can't force someone to be act like an adult without her ever learning how.

Celena was learning though, and with that eagerness in children to know everything about the world around them. The things she was learning, however, weren't from an etiquette book. When she wasn't with Allen or Eries, she would be following around Aelia, the head maid of the Schezar estate, offering to help her with the chores. Such help usually resulted in Aelia having to do twice as much work: doing what she originally intended to do and then cleaning up the mess Celena had made. Fortunately, Aelia felt a loyalty to her employers that was more like a kinship and let all offenses slide. Celena and her smile again. If Aelia was busy, Celena would just find another member of the estate staff to occupy her time. It wasn't unusual to see Celena traipse into the house covered in dirt after an afternoon spent digging in the soil beside the gardeners. She had even persuaders the crew doing renovations on the house to lend her a hammer and some nails and let her have a go at framing a window. This task she had done so well on, she had decided she might wish to be carpenter.

Allen, content enough to let her work in the gardens but alarmed by her new career goal, had managed to put his foot down then, getting Gaddes, his second in command to watch after Celena when neither he nor Eries could do it. This didn't help as much as Allen had thought it would. Gaddes' immunity to Celena's smile was just as low as everybody else's, lower even. Celena soon developed a new favorite pastime: getting Gaddes to tell stories. Gaddes, being a soldier (and having had some shadier occupations before that), had some awfully interesting stories too. She wheedled them out of him over his better instincts by resorting to the simple, but highly effective, tactics known to all children – constantly asking 'why?' and 'then what happened?' and never letting up until the entire story was told.

It was such a blunt manipulation that Eries couldn't help but wonder if there wasn't something more subtle going on. True, Celena made no secret about what she wanted. All her queries were as straightforward as an arrow. Since a lot of Gaddes' stories involved Allen, it could be nothing more than a sister being naturally curious to hear about her big brother and his friends. But Celena was quite selective about the type of stories she was naturally curious about. Recollections of Allen and his crew fighting tense battles against Zaibach to help out a foreign king and a girl from the Mystic Moon got boring quickly. On the other hand, Celena loved prying details out of Gaddes about the romantic entanglements with that foreign king and the Mystic Moon girl. Whatever mental age Celena was supposed to be, it seemed to be too young for her to be able to understand (let alone even be interested in) the intricacies of love triangles and the gossip that went along with them. Clearly though, it wasn't, yet Celena was getting all her information via childish means.

It was a neat system. The very methods she used gave Celena plausible deniability if anyone started questioning why she wanted to know. Assuming it was true, of course, and Eries was hesitant to believe it. As cynical as dealing with politicians had made Eries, she didn't feel comfortable assigning ulterior motives to a girl who had been through as much as Celena. It couldn't be possible that Celena didn't suffer from her circumstances but instead, took advantage of them.

At least it couldn't be when Celena was smiling that smile and happily bounding around the Schezar manor. It was when Eries thought she could see a gleam in Celena's eyes when she was after something she wanted that the doubts started to creep in. Eries tried to ignore them. Dr. Atrineu had spent whole days analyzing Celena and hadn't expressed any suspicions. Neither had Allen, who spent as much time as he could with her. But then asking Allen to admit Celena was wilier than the child she was supposed to be would be akin to asking a priest of Jichia to say there's no god. There's just no room in the belief system for such blasphemy.

It wasn't that important anyway. If Celena was milking circumstances, let her. It wasn't harming anything and the girl had earned it. If she wasn't, Eries had already acquired enough nicknames that likened her to frozen water. She didn't need baseless suspicions of the poor girl earning her new a one.

She might risk being called 'Ice Princess' once or twice if it would get Sedgewick to ease up. With the palace coming into sight, he was eager to go over her schedule for this afternoon so he could make a plan for her protection that would ensure she would live until this evening. After that, came the strategy to make until this night. Blessed be to Jichia that the boy was too embarrassed to go into much detail about what Eries did at night to make a plan for tomorrow morning. Those details were nothing more shocking than sleeping and getting up for the occasional glass of water, but they might cause Sedgewick to picture Eries in her nightclothes and that was something neither of them wanted, albeit for entirely different reasons.

She still was stuck with him for the rest of the day. Her itinerary called for yet another visit to the Schezar estate. Sedgewick had been out there several times already, each time waiting in the sitting room until Eries' business was concluded, somehow ignoring the renovations going on around him and fighting off the boredom of doing absolutely nothing for hours on end. Eries was starting to feel guilty about it. She'd feel even guiltier today, as she wanted to stay longer than usual to make up for Dr. Atrineu's absence.

"Sedgewick," she ventured. "You've been working so vigilantly, I feel you are due a reward. Please take this afternoon off for your leisure."

She could've offered him all the gold in the treasury from the way he reacted. "I couldn't, your majesty. My duty – "

"Is to serve. Specifically, it is to serve me." Eries repeated her suggestion to take the rest of the day off, this time leaving out the 'please'. In the back of her head, a very Revius-like voice put 'do it, you idiot' in its place.

Locked in the conundrum of having to disobey a direct order to do his duty, Sedgewick simply shut down. He had the look of puppy abandoned by his master as he exited the carriage at the palace gates. Eries hesitated briefly before urging the driver to go on to the Schezar estate.

Even if Alucier was too busy to talk to him, she would find someone who would. She had to. Sending him packing was definitely an 'Ice Princess' act. Getting him help should warm her up, possibly to the temperature of a stone not quite touched by the morning sun.

* * *

Author's Notes – For those of you who haven't died of shock from seeing that I did start this, welcome back! I even posted this around the time I said I would. I actually had this prologue finished two weeks ago, but I didn't post it because I couldn't settle on a title. (Whistles while she ignores cries of 'And that's the best you could come up with?') Anyway, expect chapter one next week. Oh, Alucier fans (that means you, Sakura) don't despair. He's still very much around and will play an important part in the story.

Next Up – The Playboy Mansion. (I guess I should point out that chapter titles for this fic will be U2 songs and I just couldn't resist that one.)


	2. The Playboy Mansion

Intrigues of a Princess

I: The Playboy Mansion

When she arrived at the Schezar estate, Eries was greeted by the sight of a pair of shoes propped against the trunk of the massive old tree that shaded the east side of the house. They were loafers in the style that was popular among young sons of nobleman, made of high quality leather that served two functions: being tough enough to withstand the abuse active boys could inflict and communicating how much money they cost those boys' parents. Most likely, they were an old pair of Allen's, but knowing where they originally came from didn't explain to Eries what they were doing out here by the tree all by themselves. The way they were arranged – toes to the earth, heels to the sky – made it look as if the person who put them there expected to be able to slide down the trunk of the tree and fit right into them.

This caused Eries to look up. She couldn't see anyone and hadn't really expected to. The whole reason she had been using the east entrance lately was that it was the first area where the extensive renovations Allen had commissioned were completed. The workers had moved onto other parts of the house, making the east wing more private and a lot less noisy. Currently, the only thing Eries could hear was the rustling of the tree's leaves. The wind had died down considerably since this morning but they were still giving the tree a good shake. One of the branches, a good fifteen feet off the ground, was considerably wobbly, almost too much so to be the wind's doing. Peering closer through the leaves, Eries identified the source of the shaking and the owner of the shoes.

"Celena, get down from there!" Eries commanded. "That branch looks like it could break!"

"It hasn't all the other times I've climbed this tree," Celena answered brightly. "Come up and see for yourself."

Eries thought of the circumstances under which she would climb a tree. They all involved avoiding mortal danger. Anything less and she would remain with feet firmly on the ground. "I don't think adding my weight to an already unstable branch would be wise."

Celena snickered, as if she had been expecting the excuse. "I'll climb higher so you can have this branch all to yourself."

"I am not climbing that tree," Eries said with finality. Hoping to hasten Celena's descent she added, "Does your brother know you're up there?"

"Allen had to meet with the tapestry guy. He wants more money and he wants it now and Allen doesn't want to give him anything until there's a rug on the wall."

"Tapestries are not 'rugs', Celena. And I take it the answer to my question is no."

Celena didn't answer. She was apparently too preoccupied with moving further up the tree. Eries couldn't make her out anymore, but there was a Celena sized cluster of leaves shaking its way up the tree out of sync with the wind.

Eries called after her several times until the silence started worrying her. It wasn't so unusual for Celena to ignore her instructions but it was strange for her to ignore her presence entirely. She moved next to the trunk and craned her head upwards. "Are you all right, Celena?"

"I think I went too high," Celena squeaked. "I'm starting to feel dizzy."

Eries tried to keep panic out of her voice. "Just stay where you are. I'll go get your brother."

"Don't leave, Eries!"

"I'll only be gone for a moment." Eries hated leaving Celena up there but didn't see what else she could do. Rescuing frightened people stuck in trees wasn't exactly on the list of things princesses were trained for.

"But you don't even know where Allen is! Can't you help me down?"

_Celena climbed up there readily enough_, Eries reasoned. _It shouldn't be that hard for her to get back down._ "I'll stay, Celena, but you'll have to do as I say."

Celena whimpered that she'd try.

"You remember how you got there, don't you? Just trace back your movements."

"I don't think I can move."

Eries assured her that she could but Celena didn't have nearly as much faith. After a few minutes, she came up with an idea how she might be convinced to believe. "Maybe if you were up here with me, Eries, then I wouldn't be so scared."

Eries considered. This couldn't really be classified as mortal danger. If Celena fell a certain way, she could break a bone or two, then that injury could get infected and that could spread and become fatal, but that sequence contained too many maybes to say this was a life or death crisis. Still, Eries didn't want to see Celena get as much as a bad bruise. "Do you really think that will help?"

"Uh, huh."

It had been many years since Eries climbed a tree and she wasn't much of a climber even when she was young. That had been Millerna's area of expertise. That girl could scamper up a tree as if it were a ladder. Eries tried recalling how her sister had done it so easily as she hitched up her skirt and started her ascent. Find a solid branch to hold onto, get a good foothold and just haul yourself help. Easy as pie. Eries wasn't much of a baker either.

She got as far as the branch she had first spotted Celena on before her arms and legs, unaccustomed to this kind of exertion, gave out. Thankfully, the branch was as stable as Celena had claimed it to be. Eries made sure she had a firm grip on it before daring to look up. "Can you see me, Celena? Can you make it to where I am?"

"No problem," Celena said as she gracefully dropped down onto the branch. "Watching you was a big help."

"I'm sure I was an inspiration," Eries said through gritted teeth. Celena had gotten over her crippling fear very, very quickly. Eries, however, was starting to feel shaky, a feeling made even worse when Celena sat down beside her and began swinging her legs back and forth.

"It's a nice view up here, isn't it?" Celena mused.

"Terribly lovely. But I prefer the view from the ground."

"Not me. There's nothing on the ground. Well, nothing except my brother."

Eries ventured a glance downward. There was Allen, at the base of the tree, staring at her with a mixture of bafflement and amusement. "How did she get you up there?" he asked.

"That doesn't matter." Eries didn't care to relay the story as it would only reinforce how foolish and gullible she felt. At least Allen seemed to be aware of who was responsible for her current predicament. If only he knew a way to get her out of it.

Celena had no trouble getting down. She was more adept at this than Millerna had ever been, practically hopping from branch to branch until a final leap put her back on terra firma. "Come on, Eries. It's not that hard."

_But the ground is. _"Give me a moment." Eries took two but neither of them brought her any closer to getting down. Annoyed at feeling so ridiculous, Eries seized up the courage to listen to the advice she had given Celena. Slowly, she moved her leg around until she found the last foothold she had used. Even more slowly, she shifted her weight onto that leg. She sighed in relief when she didn't fall. She eventually worked her way down by repeating the process, albeit at about a third of the pace she had used to go up. She was heartened to notice on the few looks down that she was brave enough to make that Allen was carefully following her progress, making sure to be right underneath her. If she had fallen, he would have caught her, or at the very least, been a soft surface to land on.

Celena was as happy as Eries was when Eries finally put both feet back on the ground. "I told you it wasn't that hard!" she said, all smiles.

Eries was seriously reevaluating her assessment that Celena's smile could be called innocent. "You also told me you were too frightened to get down on your own."

Allen frowned at his sister. It looked like Eries was wrong about his inability to suspect Celena of anything as well. "Isn't that the same thing you told Aelia to get her to climb the tree?"

"Yeah, but…" Celena fumbled for an explanation. "Since I was able to get back down when she helped me, I thought I could do it again. I didn't mean to scare Eries."

She was sincere about scaring Eries and, if one wanted to be charitable, her excuse was plausible. Not likely, but plausible, Eries thought as she debated whether to give Celena the benefit of the doubt.

Allen seemed to be having the same inner debate. Unsurprisingly, he decided to believe his sister. Surprisingly, he wasn't very lenient with her. "Now that you know better, I don't expect to see you climbing that tree again. And I think you owe Eries an apology."

Celena quickly did as instructed, apologizing again and again until Eries insisted she stop. "I won't do it again," she promised both Allen and Eries.

"I'll hold you to that," Allen said. "Now go inside and tell Aelia we'll have company for dinner. _If_ she wants you to help out, then go ahead. If not, I want to start reading that book Dr. Atrineu left for you."

There was little doubt which task Celena would prefer. Her smile faded at the suggestion to read but she gathered up her shoes and, without bothering to put them on, went back into the house as Allen had told her to do.

"You were very firm with her," Eries noted.

"For what good it'll do. She's probably going to tell Aelia that I said she had to help with dinner because we're having company. Then she'll claim to have misunderstood what I told her."

Eries was impressed. "I have to admit I had my doubts if Celena was craftier than her demeanor suggests, but you seem to have pegged her as quite the schemer."

"It's detrimental to Celena's development to deny she's engaging in negative behavior," he quoted. "It only serves to reinforce said behavior and…something about making her act even worse."

"Maybe you should read Dr. Atrineu's book."

"I do, several chapters each night," he said softly. "I'll probably read more tonight. I'm a little uneasy with him going back to Egzardia."

That explained why he had been more suspicious and stern with Celena than Eries had ever see him be before; he was compensating for the doctor's absence. Eries still gave him credit. Allen in the past had always been the type to _over_compensate. "You don't have to worry," she assured him, "Celena's made a lot of progress and I don't think being cunning enough to con a princess into climbing a tree and making a fool of herself is a sign of anything other than being mischievous."

"A princess and a maid in a tree, a gardener in the pond, and Gaddes on the roof."

"She's certainly been keeping herself occupied." This did make Eries feel a little better. Celena was a serial trickster with a number of victims.

"It backfired on her with Gaddes, though. He was up a ladder, had her over his shoulder and brought her back down so fast it actually did scare her a little bit."

Gaddes was an efficient second-in-command, a little too efficient in this case, but it was unlikely Celena would try anything on him again. Not that she needed to anymore, as now she had trusting princesses to ensnare.

"I had hoped," Allen continued, "that Gaddes and the roof was the last of it, but obviously not. Dr. Atrineu wondered if she was play acting to reassure herself that someone would be there to save her if she needed it."

It sounded like a reasonable theory. Celena had only been five when she had been abducted. One moment she'd been playing the fields with her brother and the next she was in the hands of Zaibach captors. Her entire world had changed so swiftly and suddenly, it was to be expected that she'd need reassurance that it wouldn't happen again.

It sounded like a very reasonable theory. That didn't necessarily make it true. Celena's memories of what happened to her after she was kidnapped were still cloudy. Bits and pieces would come to her suddenly then leave just as quickly, a sensation Celena had described as 'weird' before dropping the subject to talk about more interesting things. She honestly did not seem nearly as concerned with her past as her brother and doctor were. She had stated, quite matter-of-factly, that if her memories were that important, she wouldn't have forgotten them.

Dr. Atrineu toyed with another theory that Celena's dismissive attitude might be another defense on her part, but even he had to admit Celena seemed perfectly happy without any groundbreaking revelations about her past. As a general rule, perfectly happy people don't need constant reassurances. A perfectly happy person might enjoy what she thought was harmless prank, however. When Celena had been sitting on that branch with Eries, she was definitely enjoying herself.

Eries wasn't the only one who noticed this. Allen had taken note of his sister's lack of distress as well. "I don't like to question Dr. Atrineu. He's given me a lot of good advice about Celena and he understands so much. For all I know, that may be the subconscious reason why she's doing these things…"

"But you think there's a conscious reason why," Eries prodded.

"I think, maybe, she's just doing it…because she thinks it's funny," he admitted. "You know how she goes on about all the silverware every time Aelia prepares a formal meal."

"Yes, I know." This was the girl who had once stacked all her forks and spoons into a makeshift fence around her dessert plate to keep out enemy vegetables. She would have made a full blown fort but Allen had surreptitiously slid her knives out of reach while she busy with the early stages of construction. Eries found the incident more amusing than she probably should have. "Maybe she makes light of all the silverware because she's intimidated by the amount of protocol she doesn't know."

Allen looked askance at Eries, unsure if she was saying that because she thought it was funny. Deciding that she was, he said, "You were the one who recommended Dr. Atrineu."

"And you were the one who was laughing at me up in that tree along with your sister."

"Neither of us was laughing." Allen's protestation of innocence might have been more convincing if the corners of his mouth weren't threatening to twitch into a smile.

Eries didn't mind his amusement, even if it was at her expense. It had been years since Allen had ever been in a light enough mood to laugh at anything and she wasn't going to begrudge the change. Though her belief in Dr. Atrineu's rationalization of Celena's pranks had been shaken by falling victim to one of them, Eries did believe he, among others, had played a significant part in getting Allen to that point. The psychologist might be off on that one analysis, but overall, his insights had been invaluable in helping Allen deal with a little sister that was quirky on a good day.

Eries suspected that Dr. Atrineu's insights weren't limited to Celena either. She had never directly asked Allen what the two men talked about in their lengthy private sessions, but Eries doubted they could be discussing Celena alone for that long. And Allen had been somewhat vague in his praise for Dr. Atrineu. '_He understands so much_' he had said. What was it that Dr. Atrineu understood and about whom did he understand it?

She was curious, but not rude enough to pry. Again, Eries wasn't going to begrudge anything that helped Allen, even though, technically speaking, she had felt a pang of jealously when she had found out Allen was using Hitomi Kanzaki as a confidant. But that was weeks ago before she had resolved her feelings for Allen. And Dr. Atrineu wasn't a girl from the Mystic Moon with a crush on Allen.

_Maybe I could stand to talk with Dr. Atrineu, _Eries chided herself as she found her thoughts and the excuses for them drifting back to familiar territory. It wasn't an entirely unnatural progression – Dr. Atrineu was Allen's confidant now, Hitomi Kanzaki had been his confidant then – but she didn't see any reason to revisit that particular memory, especially since it involved Eries lurking in a hallway and eavesdropping on a private conversation like a common gossipmonger. It wasn't a proud moment for her, but recalling it now, Eries wasn't sure if it was the eavesdropping part of it that was bothering her.

"At least you were able to get down on your own," Allen said, interrupting Eries' thoughts.

"I had my doubts about that for awhile," she admitted. "I'm sure you would've caught me if I had fallen. And I know she apologized to me but I'm also sure Celena would have enjoyed the spectacle of you having to play catch."

"She certainly enjoyed it when Aelia fell on me and Gaddes."

It was Eries' turn to choke back laughter as the image of the portly, red-haired maid sprawled across the prone forms of Allen and his second-in-command came to her. It wasn't just unbecoming for a woman of her stature to take delight in crude slapstick; there but for the grace of Jichia would have went she. "I hope Aelia was unharmed," she said, expressing the empathy she felt with the woman.

"She was fine. Gaddes' back was a little sore for a few hours, but that was it." He paused, giving a long look back at the door his sister had gone through. "I know Celena doesn't mean any harm, but she doesn't always think of the consequences of her actions."

"One doesn't necessarily need wisdom to have wiles."

"No, I guess not," he said sadly. "And it's so hard to think of her like that. She's too innocent to be cunning, yet…"

"Yet," Eries finished for him, "There's no ill-will in what she does. She doesn't anticipate anything bad happening and she certainly wouldn't take any pleasure in it if something did."

"Absolutely not," Allen said, the force behind his words dropping his voice to a deep whisper. "She's nothing like…like _him_."

He spat the pronoun out as a curse, a method of address that Dilandau Albatou, back when he still existed, had been accustomed to, enjoyed even. It was among the many twisted things the Zaibach pilot had taken pleasure in. That it had been his persona that had been grafted over Celena's own by her abductors only made what had been done to her even more horrifying and conversely, Celena's recovery that much more miraculous. Though Allen firmly believed him gone, evaporated back into the ether from whence Zaibach's sorcerers had conjured him, he loathed the idea that his precious sister would have the smallest thing in common with the maniac who had slaughtered countless people.

Eries tread carefully around Allen's sudden downshift in temper. "I only meant that if Celena did accidentally cause harm, she would be the first to regret it. She didn't mean to frighten me today. She probably thought I'd enjoy myself once I started climbing."

"I know," Allen sighed. "I'm sorry that I got angry like that. Dr. Atrineu's departure has me more on edge than I admitted. Rationally, I don't think anything is going to happen."

Fear, however, was often irrational, though Eries wouldn't have said Allen's fears were totally unfounded. She tried to reassure him again. "Dr. Atrineu wouldn't have left if he wasn't positive you'd be fine on your own."

"Still, I'm glad I'm not on my own," he said while looking meaningfully at Eries. "I can't tell you how much you being here has meant to me, to both of us."

"I'll gladly do whatever I can, Allen."

Eries wondered if she should regret having said that when she saw Allen inhale deeply and give the ground a long glance, a sure sign a request for a favor was forthcoming.

He didn't disappoint her. "I don't suppose you would like to the first person to stay in our newly renovated guest suite? Just for this first night and maybe throughout the day tomorrow?"

Tomorrow was one of the candidates for the days when Eries was going to campaign to reclaim her council seat. She needed to hear the market reports tonight to decide if it was indeed the day. She wouldn't be able to get those reports if she stayed out here. As much as she didn't want to risk losing an advantage, she also didn't want to leave Allen in a worried state.

Hoping he'd understand, she explained her situation…and was surprised by his response. At first, he gave signs of disappointment – a downward flicker of his eyes and an agape mouth on the verge of begging her to reconsider. It was Allen, however, who appeared to reconsider. "Go back to Palas. I know how important the council is to you. You can't miss this opportunity."

Eries, who prided herself on her composure, was not often left speechless. Most of those times had been the result of receiving shocking and terrible news. She was shocked by Allen's support, but she found it wondrous. "Are you sure, Allen? I know how concerned you are about Celena."

"I am concerned but I can deal with it. Let me put your concerns above mine for a change," he said, highlighting the very habit that had characterized Eries' role in their friendship during their teenaged years.

_He has to be talking to Dr. Atrineu_, Eries decided. She'd have to give the doctor her thanks (and expensive gifts if she hoped to convey a fraction of her true appreciation) when he returned.

Allen extended his hand to her. "You are still staying for dinner, though. I won't let you out of that."

"You couldn't keep me away." Ignoring the proffered hand, she took hold of his whole arm. Side by side, the two went into the house.

* * *

Author's Notes – I'll keep this brief lest ff net gets all huffy: it's great to see all the familiar names on the review board (and some new ones). I can't believe I didn't drive the lot of you away with the wait I put you through. I'm back to a regular writing routine now and shooting for a monthly posting schedule at the slowest. 

Next Up – All Along the Watchtower. Eries goes in front of the council and gets an earful of Meiden Fassa's plans. ETA: late February.


	3. All Along the Watchtower

Intrigues of a Princess

II: All Along the Watchtower

As predicted, the market reports painted a glowing picture of commerce in Asturia. All throughout the country, trade and employment was up. More importantly, so was profit. Lumber and steel in particular were in such demand, they were almost as valuable as the gold used to purchase them.

Eries skimmed through the reports for the names of businesses she knew belonged to the men who served on the council. Meiden Fassa's portfolio was looking plump, with his fellow merchants posting only slightly less spectacular gains. The council chambers were going to be a festive place this morning and Eries Aston had every intention of doing some celebrating herself.

She already had her foot in the door. After returning from the Schezar estate last night, Eries had gone to visit her father. Millerna had been with him, discussing a new medicine from Cesario she had come across in her research. Supposedly, it would help with his blood flow and give him some strength back without any of the tiring side effects his current medication had. King Aston had been very hopeful about it and proud of the daughter who had discovered it for him. So proud in fact, his good will extended to his other daughter when she had requested that he give her special permission to address the council. He had signed the writ Eries had presented to him without even questioning her on her intentions.

Millerna had smiled knowingly as their father put pen to paper. She knew what Eries' intentions were and supported them. After bidding their father good night, she had taken Eries aside and offered to help her with Meiden, should the old merchant prove difficult. He was eager to curry his daughter-in-law's favor, even if it meant playing nice with her sister. The last time he and Eries had clashed (over Millerna's engagement to Dryden) had not been a pleasant affair. He had accused her of using her sister and throwing away the crown. She had manipulated him into dropping treason charges against Allen by pretending Millerna hadn't already agreed to the engagement. Eries never had found out if Meiden ever realized how he had been deceived, but even without that extra incentive, he was still a tricky opponent. Millerna's assistance in handling him would be greatly appreciated.

Eries hoped she would not need to use it this morning though. It was prideful of her, she knew, but she wanted to get back on the council on her own. She wanted every man in those chambers to know that she damn well belonged there and agree to reinstate her on that merit alone. Once she was back on, she knew that would change. Political favors were the order of the day on the council. Deals were cut back and forth and Eries would be right there in the thick of them, bringing Millerna's influence over Meiden full to bare whenever she got backed into a corner. It would have been ludicrously naïve of her to believe she could serve without getting a bit dirty.

But that would be later. Right now, she wanted a clean victory, or as clean a victory in politics could get. She did not count taking advantage of the market reports as dirty, only common sense. Getting the king's permission to address the council fell into the same category. She couldn't earn her position back if she was never given a chance to do it.

_Muttering justifications to myself, _she thought with a terse laugh. _I am definitely fit for the council._

In two hours, she would begin to convince the councilmen of that.

0-0-0-0-0

From her position at the opposite end of the council table, Eries thought Meiden Fassa's already harsh countenance had sharpened even further. His wide brow furrowed, his jaw set in a scowl, there was something almost feral about the man. Eries partook in some pettiness and tried to decide whether he reminded her more of a weasel or a rat – an extremely angry rat trapped in an extremely small cage.

And he was trapped. He knew it too. From the moment Eries had entered the council chambers with her writ, he knew why she was there and how little he could do about it. A piece of his power was about to get chipped away and he had to sit there with his hands clenched to the point where nails began to dig into skin, pretending he too thought it was a wonderful idea for the princess to represent Asturia in the upcoming summit.

He had been in such a good mood until then. Yesterday's market reports couldn't have been more welcome if he had written them himself. Over breakfast this morning, he had cut a deal to add ten more ships to his leviship fleet. As his butler cleared away dishes, he had signed a contract giving him exclusive importing rights to a rare and highly prized gemstone found only in Egzardian mines. The best news of all had been delivered to him just outside the council doors: his agents had located his son.

These agents had located him almost by chance, docking at the same port near Freid Dryden's fleet had docked at but a few minutes ago. By their reckoning, the young merchant was going to be there for awhile. Dryden's altruism had him not merely selling goods but making sure they were put to good use. A fast leviship could be there and back again in time to make the prince regent presentable for the summit. Eries hadn't been the only one to come up with the argument a royal needed to be there. Meiden just had a different idea who that royal should be.

It would have been a spectacular introduction for Dryden into world politics and an excellent hook to bring the boy in line. He couldn't leave his beloved Asturia in a position of weakness, could he? He couldn't let the Astons down. What would Millerna think of him? He would have come back, however reluctantly, and done his duty – with ample help from Meiden, of course. Spending week after week focused on his fleet, Dryden would need someone to catch him up on the rapidly changing world of politics. He'd need someone to coach him on all the leaders he'd be meeting with and their individual agendas. Who better to do it than his father? Meiden already knew the advice he was going to give.

It had been an excellent plan. Meiden would have been put in a plum position of power and no one could say he was doing it for any other reason but to help Asturia. The only thing he hadn't counted on was Eries and her damned sense of timing rendering the whole thing moot. He'd never be able to press Dryden into service if his son thought someone better qualified could take his place. Loathe as Meiden was to admit it, of the two, Eries was the more skilled politician. Her claim to royalty wasn't based on a marriage of questionable existence either. Objectively, he had to support her. Subjectively, he was stuck with the same position. It wouldn't look good to argue against the princess, especially since he didn't actually have his prince regent in possession to counter her.

At this stage, all he could do was glare at Eries and even that wasn't satisfying. She had a slight smirk on her face as she refused to look away from his stare, indicating she was very much aware of how Meiden felt about her power play and didn't care in the slightest.

But Meiden had not built his mercantile empire by allowing his opponents to smirk for too long. He still had plans, they just needed revision. The sticking point had always been getting Dryden to play along like a good son. The new sticking point of getting Eries to play along might actually be the more easily accomplished act, now that he was thinking about it. Eries had her idealism, but she at least checked it with healthy doses of cynical realism. If Eries had sold an entire fleet to pay some stranger's medical bills, she would have asked for a receipt and change. Not Dryden, he went for the grand gesture. As much as Meiden loved his son (and it was more than anyone would ever guess), Dryden confounded him an equal amount. That whole Merchant of the Oppressed act he had going on was a perfect example. Hadn't the boy listened at all to his lectures on profit margins?

So maybe, just maybe, Eries' placement on the council wasn't the setback he initially thought it was. He'd have to handle her differently from Dryden, surely. Part of his strategy had been to distract Dryden with Millerna. Eries, of late, had regrettably decreased the amount of meddling she'd been doing in her little sister's life. All her time instead seemed to be going to the Schezar family.

That was a ray of hope for Meiden. If Eries had a weak spot, Allen Schezar was it. Eries' deep concern for the knight's daft younger sister sweetened the pot. Meiden doubted he'd have to dig too deep to find something there that would prove useful to him.

He'd get on that later. First, he had to get through this council meeting. Next, he had to lay the groundwork with Eries. Hiding what he wanted to do would likely prove counterproductive with her. The moment she became suspicious – and he wasn't about to underestimate her sharp political senses or her dislike of him to think that she wouldn't – she would be on his back until she had the truth. Better to give her the truth straight out then, and exploit the idealism she had in common with Dryden.

And anyway, it would have been a shame to let the speech he had prepared for his son to go to waste.

0-0-0-0-0

After hardly any debate, Lord Poniard put the motion to reinstate Eries to the council to vote. In an unusual unanimous decision, Eries once again became a councilman. Her first vote upon her return was in favor of the princess being Asturia's lead representative at the world council.

Eries would have enjoyed her victory more if it hadn't been spoiled by Meiden insisting they meet privately after the council adjourned. He still had a sour expression on his face, though Eries didn't think it ran as deep as before. Perhaps her second and third votes matching his own had placated him slightly. Technically, her first vote had matched his as well but pointing that out would only have been rubbing it in.

"You wanted to speak with me, Meiden?" Eries asked mildly. There was no trace of the smugness she had shown earlier. That had been a temporary indulgence. Gaining her seat on the council back hadn't caused Meiden to lose his. Now that they were more or less on equal footing and she had to suck it up and afford him some respect if she wanted to get any in return.

"Tell me, Princess, why you think it's so important at the summit for Asturia to…How did you phrase it? 'Show a strong crown'?"

"Surely you realize how significant this summit is and the effect it could have for Asturia for years to come."

"I'm very much aware. Every last man that was just here in this room is aware," he said, waving his hand at the council table. "That's why you got your vote. I need to make sure you're aware."

"You know I'm no fool, Meiden," Eries snapped, momentarily forgetting the calm she was supposed to conduct herself with. Meiden had that effect on people. "Or have you forgotten all I was able to do on this council, many times over your objection."

"No, Princess. I haven't forgotten a thing. I remember well how you would vote against Asturia's best interest when it came to expanding our borders. I remember how you would vote to open our coffers to any little nation in need whether we would get anything out of it or not. What do you remember?"

He was baiting her and if she let him, they could spend hours bickering over their basic differences in policy. But the temptation was just too much… "I remember you wanting to leave Freid to rot when they were suffering a drought. And I remember that Father voted with me to give them aid. Now, didn't we get an extremely favorable trade agreement and large sections of land out of that?"

"One of your better maneuvers," Meiden conceded, "Though you eventually lost your sister to the deal."

That silenced Eries. Bringing up Marlene was low, even for Meiden. Her older sister's marriage hadn't even been directly tied to the decision to give Freid aid. But it had come from that, and the majority of the land Eries had boasted about had come from the marriage. She must be out of practice to have lost so quickly to Meiden.

"What do you want from me, Meiden?"

"I want you to answer my question."

"Fine," Eries snapped again. She proceeded to answer Meiden's question in the manner of a bored history professor addressing a class of simpletons. "Asturia has been a monarchy for centuries. The council has gained power over the years but has never assumed outright control. This might be considered a natural progression of government but now would not be an opportune time for even a hint of that progression to be in the air."

"And why is that?" Meiden asked, playing the class trouble maker.

_Because Asturia needs to negotiate from a position of strength, you idiot. How else have we been able to maintain our trade status? _Eries thought. Then she thought further. What had Meiden been implying with his talk of expanding borders? What exactly did he wish to negotiate? The conference was supposed to settle what do with Zaibach and redraft peace treaties. Did Meiden have something grander in mind? What sort of opportunities did he see in this summit?

Asking the questions had been the hard part. Answering them was easy once Eries started thinking like Meiden. "With the damage done to Freid and Fanelia, not to mention Zaibach, now would be an ideal time for a nation to take the lead in world affairs. Other countries aren't likely to take the lead of another country that can't figure out who its own leaders are."

Meiden clapped to show how right her answer had been. "You catch on quickly, Princess. That is one quality I admire about you. Hopefully, our fellow world leaders will come to appreciate it as well without developing the skill themselves."

"You don't really think you can go into that conference with dreams of becoming some kind of superpower? We just fought a war to end Zaibach's aspirations to the same!"

"They used guymelefs and soldiers. We'll be using politics. We'll be much deadlier."

Eries did not share his confidence. She did not share his belief in using the word 'we' either. This was his plot, not hers, and he was acting as if she had already agreed to go along with it. What sort of woman did he think she was that she would try to seize power like that?

She couldn't get too indignant. She was the sort of woman who, less than two hours ago, had entered the council chambers and played her own game of politics. That had been about a council seat, though. Meiden had his beady eyes on the whole of Gaea.

"You can't believe I'll go along with this."

"I believe, Princess, that once I've laid everything out for you, you'll see how much this will benefit Asturia and the rest of the world."

"Please don't pretend you're doing this for altruistic reasons. You're insulting us both."

"Maybe so," Meiden laughed, "But surely you agree that the crown and the council have served Asturia's people well. People of other nations have not had it as good."

"And you plan on showing them the light whether they want it or not."

"You think too little of me, Princess. We're not going to force anyone; we're going to _influence_ them. It won't be a matter of whether they want it or not because they'll want it like nothing they've wanted before."

Eries wondered if was possible for someone to think too little of Meiden Fassa. The man certainly thought too highly of himself. Only the vastness of the oceans could compete with the size of the man's ego and ambitions and that was a close call. "What makes you think you can pull this off? Freid, Fanelia and Zaibach might be weak but Egzardia, Cesario and Basram are hardly wilting flowers in need of a benevolent gardener."

"I realize your knowledge is limited to hearsay and the few intelligence reports you've been able to get your hands on, but I'm a merchant with ships at dock in every country in the world," Meiden boasted. "I hear the things our spies aren't planted deep enough to hear."

"Then I suppose we can save money by firing all our spies and relying on you," Eries said acidly. He was probably right about his access to information, which only made Eries more annoyed with him. More annoying still, was that Meiden wasn't stupid. If he believed circumstances were ripe for enacting some grand plan, then circumstances were ripe. Meiden Fassa didn't take a gamble unless the odds were in his favor. He must know something she didn't.

"We could get better intelligence," Meiden laughed. "But the fees I'd have to charge for my services simply wouldn't be worth it." Seeing the severity of Eries' frown, he decided to quit provoking her. She was going to the summit; there was no way around that that didn't involve illegal actions against the throne. He wasn't prepared to go that far – yet.

"Let me tell you what I know, Princess. Then you can tell me whose gardens need weeding. Basram couldn't back peddle from dropping that Energist bomb fast enough. The world's outraged. Their people are outraged. Someone has got to be held accountable and the military's going to be left holding that particular bag. Be prepared to see some general or the other fall on his sword during the summit.

But I don't think that will be enough. Basram's a big, scary military nation and we other nations won't be happy with one resignation. They'll still have all their weapons and they'll still have the technology to make more. An Energist bomb is a worldwide concern and requires a solution created by the world at wide."

"So Basram's weak too," Eries said. "With a united front with other nations, we can beat their army to death with treaty regulations. Feasible, but in the long run, don't you think that will foster resentment? Enough resentment to tell us exactly what we can do with our treaties?"

"Not without fear of reprisal and in my plans, reprisal could be quite fearful indeed."

"Oh, yes, your grand plans for Asturia's status as king of the world no doubt will include an army to enforce it."

"Again, Princess, you think too little of me. I'm not trying to create a monarchy, no offense to your family. My new world order will be a democratic institution, with Asturia serving as its elected head."

'Meiden Fassa's New World Order' quickly became the scariest concept Eries had ever heard of. It made Basram's Energist bomb look like a fireworks display gone wrong. Whatever it involved, it would not exist to benefit the world over, but a selected few, Meiden being one of those few, naturally.

"Do I want to know why you're so confident Asturia will get everyone's vote?"

"Because we're going to be everyone's friend."

"Everyone except Basram's military."

"Actually, they're going to love us the most."

Eries wished she had eaten before coming to the council chambers. Hunger had already given her a mild headache. Meiden's talking in circles was making it worse. She knew any clarification he gave wouldn't help, but she asked anyway. "We just regulated them into non-existence. Why would they love us?"

"No, we _threatened_ to regulate them into non-existence. By the skillful negotiation of several choice officials in that country's government, we let them keep it, with some meaningless exceptions that look good on paper, of course."

"Let me guess how those choice officials got chosen," Eries sighed. "By their keen ability to cut deals with merchants who sell supplies that are in high demand for armies. And since it was their skills that 'saved' Basram's military, they're going to move higher up in that country's hierarchy and become even choicer."

"My dear Princess," Meiden said with genuine admiration, "There are times when I cannot fathom why we disagree."

"Understanding your plan and condoning it are two separate things entirely."

"And why wouldn't you condone it? Basram's a rogue entity as is. Who knows what they'll do with their military if the world turns against them? As you said, dismantling it will foster resentment. My way, we get an obedient ally and substantial contributions to our coffers."

"Your coffers," Eries corrected him.

"Do you have any idea how many hardworking Asturians I employ? My wealth is our country's wealth."

"I'm sure there are people in the poorer districts who would disagree with you."

"They'd have the same disagreement with you, you know. You haven't exactly led a pauper's life yourself."

"Fine, Basram's our dear ally now," Eries said, quickly changing the subject. She couldn't believe how out of form she was. Meiden was countering every move she made and, if she put aside his greedy motives, was actually making sense about Basram. It wasn't the only country in the world, however. "But how are you going handle everyone else? You don't really think we can bribe Fanelia and Freid with aide, do you? The monks of Freid are too proud by half and any request you made to Van Fanel in that vein would be met with a sword through one of your major arteries."

"Fanelia," Meiden snorted, "isn't a factor. They've been perfectly happy being isolationists and the rest of the world has been perfectly happy letting them. I really don't see Van Fanel breaking that tradition. He's too busy finding a roof to live under in his own damn country."

In actuality, the only thing Van Fanel lacked was a palace roof to live under. His priority for Fanelia's reconstruction had always been his people's homes, not his own. The castle would eventually be rebuilt, but until then, its king lived among commoners who were more than happy to provide him shelter. Eries supposed Fanel's utter disdain of rank and status could be what had rankled Meiden – the merchant subscribed to these ideas so stridently, it was a wonder he didn't make everyone present papers certifying their lineage before he would talk to them – but suspected it went deeper than that. Fanel didn't trust Meiden Fassa as far as his catgirl companion could throw him. Meiden had, after all, set him up in an unfair guymelef fight and arranged for the kidnapping of Hitomi Kanzaki. Other people might be able to put aside such things in the name of political gain, but Van Fanel was not other people. He'd never play Meiden's game, so Meiden had simply decided not to give Fanel any cards and declare he wasn't really a player.

_So Meiden's plan does have some flaws_, Eries thought. That was a good sign. It left her room to argue with him or, if it came to it, the ability to maneuver around him. Yes, Meiden had been spot on about Fanelia's isolationist past, but she wasn't sure he had a firm grasp of the country's future. The world was changing and Van Fanel had been a driving force behind that change. If the duty was noble enough, he could be called to be one again. And he was friends with Allen. Millerna had spent time with him too. Meiden might be dismissive of the young king's potential as a world power, but Eries was going to keep her mind, and her options, wide open in that regard.

Though she had already talked with Meiden longer than she had ever wished to, Eries wanted to know what other flaws might be in the man's plan. The only way to find out was to keep listening. "So you don't find Fanelia tempting enough to exploit its current weakness. I gather you don't feel the same about Freid."

"Freid is an entirely different story." It must be. Meiden brightened considerably in comparison to when he was assessing Fanelia. "There's still some bitterness over letting Zaibach use Asturia as a staging ground before they invaded, but we've been nothing but good neighbors since then."

Eries wanted to throw something at Meiden. There he was, treating the most wrenching decision her father had ever had to make as if it were nothing more than a silly, easily forgotten mistake. But then, it hadn't been Meiden's brother-in-law who had been killed. He didn't have to worry about how his young nephew was coping with losing nearly everything he had ever known. If it didn't affect Meiden directly, Meiden didn't let it affect him at all.

He droned on and on about how wonderful Asturia had been in coming to the aide of the country it had help destroy, blithely unaware of how tempting a statue at the center of the council table was becoming to Eries. It was made of solid rock chiseled into an abstract rectangular shape. Between its weight and form, it would be a bear to lift, but once she got swinging, its momentum would be _very_ impressive.

"And of course, there's Chid," Meiden continued. "He hasn't been formally made Duke, but no one else has a real claim on the throne except a distant cousin of Mahad dal Freid. No one's taking him seriously. He'll be coming to the summit nonetheless so I believe it would behoove us to make sure he's trivialized even further. With Chid on the throne and the amount of debt Freid's accumulated, it might as well be a territory of Asturia."

"Debts can be repaid and Chid is part Freidian." Eries knew the latter was true only in a spiritual sense, but as far as the world at large and Chid himself knew, it was true in the physical sense as well.

"Yes, yes, that's true," Meiden muttered in a way that made Eries wonder if Meiden was part of the world at large or somehow had become privy to part of the secret of Chid's paternity. King Aston had confided his suspicions of Allen to Eries but it wouldn't be like him to talk about the matter to anyone outside of the family. But he and Meiden were old friends, as good as brothers.

She might as well be blunt. Meiden had taken the lead in this exchange long ago so it wasn't as if being overt would cost her anything. "Either you think you know something I don't know or you know full well I know the same thing and you're choosing to be coy."

"Playing coy, Princess? Isn't that your strategy?"

"And you're trying to teach me how frustrating it can be on the opposite end? I think not."

Meiden chuckled. "And to think but not an hour ago, I was furious with you for taking back your council seat. If I had known how entertaining this discussion was going to be, I would have invited you back myself."

Eries took another look at the statue. Maybe it wouldn't be so hard to lift, after all. Anger was a powerful stimulant. "While you're patting yourself on the back, Meiden, perhaps you'd also like to give yourself a reminder who Chid's family is and how precarious your own son's position is in that family. These grandiose plans of yours won't mean very much if you're no longer sufficiently connected to enjoy the results of their fruition."

"Threatening me with your sister again, Princess?"

"I thought that was obvious."

Meiden actually recoiled against that piece of hostility. The give and take between the two had never been amicable (and this particular exchange had been circling nasty waters from the start) but they had always had the decency to keep the threats veiled, however thinly. There was something uncouth about spelling it all out so plainly.

Something uncouth and not terribly smart. Chid and the matter his paternity was very dangerous territory and Eries needed to navigate it carefully. Snarling at Meiden, therapeutic as it may be, was going to trip her up. "Forgive me, Meiden, that was uncalled for. Asturia's role in Freid's destruction is still a sore point for me."

"As it is for all of us, Princess."

Eries highly doubted that was the case but calling Meiden on his cavalier attitude towards the devastated country would likely have her snarling again. It would also keep the topic stuck on Chid and Eries was hoping to move in the opposite direction. "I'll concede that we have an opportunity to rebuild our alliance with Freid into something stronger than it was before but there are still two more major countries on the map – Cesario and Egzardia."

"Ah, Egzardia," Meiden sighed. "I know you're on good terms with her eldest princess but I suspect your friend is holding out on you if you really have to ask."

The truth was that Eries hadn't spoken directly with Marqesita since just after the end of the war a few months ago. Letters had been exchanged but they hadn't contained any information that seemed relevant to what Meiden was implying. Marqesita had mentioned some problems with her father's health, but had downplayed them against the problems Eries' own father had faced. Could Egzardia's king actually be in worse shape? Eries began to suspect that was the case. Meiden wouldn't have that vulture's grin on his face if it weren't, would he?

Eries decided to take a gamble. "Sita's been concerned about her father and possible succession issues should the worst come to pass. But she's a loving daughter and dutiful princess. Somehow, I think you have similar concerns but for different reasons."

Meiden surveyed her warily, trying to assess whether Eries had known all along about Egzardia's current situation or if she had just made a very good guess. Regardless, she had hit the nail on the head. Meiden was reluctant to let her know that if it had been just a guess but he couldn't very well discuss his plans without telling her. He could still work in a dig if she had been guessing though. "It's good to know you and Princess Marqesita are so close that she does not hesitate to share something so important with you."

"Yes, the news may have troubled me," Eries replied, not giving up an inch, "but it heartened me to know Sita would take me into her confidence. Of course, given how secretive Egzardia's been about the matter, how is it that you know, Meiden?"

"I already told you, being a merchant has its perks. For instance, when I was working out a trade with Princess Marqesita's brother, I took information in lieu of gold."

"Her brother?" Eries hoped the brother Meiden was referring to wasn't Tellot. Marqesita had once described him as being as big and dumb as a stump. Eries had not disagreed with this evaluation when she had finally met the man during one of her father's more misguided attempts to find a husband for her. She still felt guilty for letting Alucier suffer the brunt of Tellot's charming tales of women and alcohol that evening. If Meiden was negotiating with that idiot, Egzardia was in deep, deep trouble.

"A cunning young man, that one," Meiden said and Eries knew he couldn't be referring to Tellot. "He knew I'm old friends with Grava as well as the father of the new prince regent. He actually approached me."

She could tell this was troubling the merchant, which gave Eries substantial misgivings of her own. If Meiden thought someone was cunning to the point of alarm…

Marqesita had never gone into much detail about her family. Tellot was the oldest by two years, followed by Marqesita. The brother that came next had to be the one Meiden was speaking of as all of her other siblings had been born of her father's second wife. The oldest boy of those children hadn't yet hit his teens.

"Bennor," Eries said, recalling the brother's name not from Marqesita's letters but from council meetings regarding Egzardia. Tried as she might, she couldn't remember anything Marqesita had said about him. That couldn't be a good sign. As little as Marqesita thought of her older brother, Tellot still rated an occasional mention. What of Bennor?

"That would be him," Meiden confirmed. "He's of the opinion his country will be in need of a new ruler any day now. Can you guess who he thinks would be the ideal candidate?"

"Does his opinion even matter? He has a brother and a sister in line before him." Unlike Asturia, Egzardian law had no problem with a queen ruling the country on her own. It hadn't happened often in the country's long history, but if something should eliminate Tellot from succession, Marqesita would have precedent on her side to claim the throne. Honestly, Eries wouldn't mind having the precedent of Queen Marqesita to point to herself.

"There's some debate about that," Meiden said. Annoyingly, he didn't enlighten Eries as to what the debate was. After all, Eries was supposed to know all about this already. "Bennor seems to believe his portion in the argument might be strengthened by having powerful allies argue it with him."

"So he approached you to get Asturia on his side."

"He also knew of your friendship with his sister. Coming to me was a bit of a preemptive strike, you might say."

"I hope you were not impressed enough by his strategy that you actually agreed!"

Meiden laughed at this accusation. "How many times must you underestimate me, Princess? No, I didn't agree to a thing. I may have left young Bennor with implications to the contrary but nothing that would stand up in a tribunal."

Eries' temple throbbed as her headache evolved into a full migraine. Meiden wasn't going to try to put his scheme into effect at the summit as she feared; he had already kicked it off. And he had kicked it off by sticking his hand into a pie where it most definitely did not belong. She couldn't escape the feeling that Asturia would wind up with crust and filling in her face because of it.

"You cannot interfere with Egzardia's succession," Eries stated in exasperation. Even as the words left her mouth she knew Meiden would only brush them aside.

"We won't be interfering," Meiden said, as expected. "We'll simply be offering our support to whoever looks to be the winner."

"And you expect me to believe you won't try to influence who the winner will be?"

"Influence? Well, that's entirely different from interfering."

Forget the statue, Eries was ready to find a dictionary, open it to the page with 'influence' on it and then proceed to beat Meiden senseless with the whole book. Maybe then he'd stop playing so fast and loose with the word. That was unlikely though. No real purpose had ever been served by arguing semantics with Meiden Fassa. The man could twist words into pretzels, then feed them to you claiming they were fruit. And you'd go along with him because arguing any further would just result in having more things shoved down your throat. It was better to swallow and console yourself with the idea that _you_ knew you were right.

Enough was enough, though. If Eries had to swallow any more of Meiden's megalomania, she'd choke. "So now that you've_ influenced _Egzardia's still-theoretical succession…" Eries paused for moment to speculate what would might happen if Egzardia's king failed to pass on as expected. The facts she had in hand suggested she not speculate too much lest nausea set in alongside her headache. "The new ruler is only too happy to offer his or her support to us in turn. That leaves us with Cesario, I believe."

At this, Meiden's logorrhea suddenly dissipated. All he told Eries was that he had connections to Cesario's president that he could exploit. Eries could have taken that as a given. What she wanted to know is why he thought he could exploit them towards his end goal. Though all of the plans he had thus far revealed had been rough sketches at best, Eries had little trouble figuring out what the completed pictures would look like and the techniques Meiden would use to craft them. Cesario's piece of the picture was blurry to her. To Meiden, she suspected it was crystal clear. He wouldn't just leave one of the most populous countries on Gaea (and probably the most stable politically - even above Asturia, if Eries was being objective) off his 'To Conquer' list.

Which begged a frightening question: if Meiden, knowing how disproving Eries was bound to be, was willing to be open and relatively honest about everything else, what could he possibly be hiding?

Her prompts for more information were met with answers that might have been satisfactory if Meiden hadn't made his initial slip up. "The nature of our trade with Cesario has always favored us. We import frivolities. We export necessities. I think Asturians could live without the latest fashions to wear to the theater a great deal more comfortably than Cesarians could live without food to put on the table."

Eries nodded along as he went into more details. Meiden was correct about their trade arrangements as they existed now. But if Asturia got pushy, she doubted Cesario would simply fall over. They imported grain because it was cheaper than growing it themselves. If the price became too high, they'd take their business elsewhere or start up their own. It was the same with everything else. This was a basic rule of business Meiden was pretending to flout; surely he didn't think Eries was really buying his excuses?

Or maybe he didn't care. He'd been in some sort of negotiations with Bennor. How was Eries to know if there wasn't a disgruntled member of Cesario's government who was hoping for a Meiden Fassa aided promotion too? And if she was right, how could she know how long Meiden had been in talks with this person? What plans they had made together? When they would go into effect, if they weren't in effect already?

Despite Meiden's supposedly candidness, Eries had to conclude there was much, much too much, more going on. Meiden wasn't the type to give away any more than he had to. Eries correctly surmised that in resuming her place on the council and being chosen as Asturia's representative, he had been forced to tell her at least something. He'd known Eries and her dislike of him well enough to know how suspicious she'd be at the tiniest transgression. He knew too what to say about Basram to keep her listening. But he also should have known how quickly Eries would pick up on his mistake with Cesario. Did his plans include manipulating Eries into being suspicious of him about Cesario to keep her distracted from something else?

Or maybe he was making the whole mess up as he went along to frustrate Eries so thoroughly she'd withdraw from the summit on her own. Much as that notion would be cause for celebration, it was likely to be true as Meiden pledging to donate his empire to charity to go off and join his son as a crusader for the little consumer.

There's an old axiom: just because you're paranoid doesn't mean there isn't anything to be paranoid about. And Meiden was giving Eries plenty of things to be paranoid about. She had likened him to a weasel earlier due to his appearance but it was his behavior that really brought the comparison home.

_The Devious Weasel versus the Ice Princess, _Eries thought bitterly. It sounded like an advertisement for one those organized brawls that were held from time to time at the docks. As a refined princess, Eries wasn't supposed to have knowledge of those tournaments – dangerous, barely legal affairs in which men attacked each other until one of them couldn't attack back – but she had heard stories from Alucier and Revius about some of the rowdier ones that had to be broken up before someone got killed. They spared her the details of blood and broken bones, but Eries wasn't naïve; she knew the men who participated in these didn't walk away with minor cuts and bruises. She wasn't naïve about this summit either. Meiden was showing her but a few cards. His whole hand wouldn't be played until much later. Oddest and possibly worst of all, Eries was getting the impression that Meiden actually believed that when the time came, she would be placing her bets on him.

The time to reveal his hand wasn't now. The time for Eries to pick a side, however…

Meiden finished his dissertation on Cesario's trade industry with the pronouncement that they could gets into specifics later. "Not much later, though," he said. "Some diplomats will be arriving as early as tomorrow. Though the summit won't officially get down to talks for a few more days, there's nothing preventing us from doing some 'pre-negotiating'."

"Nothing except pesky ethics and morality."

"Do you think our government is so devoid of these qualities, Princess?" Meiden asked earnestly. With less honestly, he continued. "Because ultimately, all I want is for all of Gaea to know what we already treasure. I let you skirt this earlier but I'll ask you directly now: Do you really think we treat our people so poorly?"

A loaded question seldom has a correct answer so Eries let Meiden query go unanswered and changed tactics. "If Dryden had been here, do you think he would have gone along with all this?"

"My son and I have our differences but I have managed to teach him that there are ends that are justified by the means."

"What makes you think he'd agree to your 'end' let alone your 'means' in this case?"

"The same thing that makes me think that you'll wind up agreeing with me. Yes, I'm being manipulative. Yes, I'm making a grab for power. But in this instance, the greater good happens to coincide with my personal good. A united Gaea is preferable to a planet of bickering nations and there are worse choices for one country for everyone to be united under than Asturia."

Eries didn't give him the opportunity to ask her if she agreed this time. She left the council chambers in concession to the fact that Meiden had been more prepared than she had, and that Meiden, deep down beneath the naked ambition and avarice, wasn't entirely wrong.

0-0-0-0-0

Author's Notes – That took longer than expected. Meiden's such a fun little bastard to write, it's hard to get him to shut up. I hope I haven't spoiled you (or inadvertently brought about the apocalypse) by posting three chapters within a thirty day period. I'll be going on an every four weeks posting schedule now. At my current pace of writing, I should build up a healthy lead that will enable me to shorten that eventually but right now my goal is to have enough material to avoid subjecting you all to those ridiculous four to eight month gaps in case I do get too busy to write.

Edit – Many thanks to Ghost Flame for pointing out a continuity error.

Next up – Zoo Station. And it will be a zoo with all those diplomats arriving in Asturia. Good thing Alucier (and Revius) will be around for crowd control.


	4. Zoo Station

Intrigues of a Princess

III: Zoo Station

Rule number one of being a princess was to always look the part. Millerna, dressed in a full length gown and wearing enough jewelry to open a decent sized stall in the market district, was in full compliance. Eries was less so. Rule number one of being a diplomat was not to look like a poofed up fool. Current Asturian fashion made it difficult for noblemen to follow this rule. It was damned near impossible for a princess taking on dual roles.

Juggling two disparate rule books and in a rush due to the Egzardian delegation's unexpected early arrival, Eries had reached deep into her wardrobe and picked out a gown with moderate frills that fulfilled the princess obligations and a somber, dark blue hue that took care of the diplomat side. In her haste though, Eries had only examined the front of the gown and thus, was not reminded of why the gown had been regulated to the back of her wardrobe. She didn't remember how the fabric gathered in large tufts at the small of her back until she had noticed how other people were noticing only that particular part of her attire. Depending on how well the viewer knew Eries, he or she would either laugh or fidget uncomfortably at the sight over Asturia's ever-so-refined second princess having a big, blue hump over her rear end.

Sedgewick had taken the silent route when he had arrived at her chambers so it wasn't until the two had gone to fetch Millerna for the trip out to the leviship dockyard that Eries had received her first hint that she had committed a fashion and dignity faux pas. By then, they were already running late, leaving Eries with little choice but to let Millerna try to smooth the tufts out while Sedgewick averted his eyes during the carriage ride there. The guard had been successful in his task. Judging from the full minute Revius took to stop laughing after he spotted Eries exiting the carriage, Millerna had not.

She didn't really mind his laughter. She had laughed plenty of times at his expense over the years. The same held true with Alucier, who had been temporarily reassigned to handling security for the summit. He only laughed for half a minute but had pantomimed cleaning his glasses to make sure what he was seeing, was actually true. They were her friends. While their laughter was more _at_ her than with her, they weren't being jerks about it.

Others were. Scanning the yard, Eries briefly met Meiden Fassa's eyes and spotted a glimmer of amusement in them. He himself was dressed impeccably, his loose merchant's robes put aside in favor an elegant coat over a tailored suit. There were no humps on him.

Millerna kept insisting Eries didn't look that bad and after she smacked Revius, he agreed with her. For his part, Alucier suggested that Sedgewick stand directly behind her so no one could see the tufts.

"I'd do it myself, but alas my new duties prevent me from coming to your aid," he lamented.

"Shouldn't your new duties keep you from lingering around me making jokes as well?"

"Hey, all work and no play... Besides," Alucier added in a whisper, "I wanted to check out the new guy. Rev said he was as stiff as a board, but you have to take the source into consideration."

"For once, Revius is completely reliable."

"He can't be that bad, can he?" he insisted, but Eries thought he had brightened upon hearing his replacement was having a hard time filling his shoes.

Despite him having fun earlier at her expense, Eries decided to inflate his ego a little more. It had been awhile since their schedules aligned enough to talk and she missed it. "I've been so used to having my own private guard, but now I think I might go back to using a pool of guards as Millerna and Father do."

"Now you're just flattering me. Keep going."

More bad timing from the Egzardians kept her from doing so. As their leviship hovered above the ground in preparation for landing, Alucier motioned for Revius and the four other Caeli he had managed to gather up on short notice to get into position where the gangplank would be lowered. The six were only half the Order, but - snapped perfectly still attention, the sunlight glinting off the gold buckles on their uniforms and the hilts of their swords - they were an impressively elegant presence.

Millerna and Eries moved forward to stand at the end of the two three-man lines. Meiden sidled up behind them, careful not to get too close to the royals lest he look as presumptuous as he actually was.

The first Egzardian to step off the leviship was the oldest, Tellot. In the years it had been since she'd seen him, the prince had gotten thick around the middle (the apparent price of his hedonistic lifestyle). His dress uniform strained to cover the girth. He still had the look of good-natured vacuity, which suggested his mental skills hadn't toned up in order to compensate. Eries wondered what his role would be at the summit because there was nothing about him that said 'shrewd negotiator'. There wasn't much about him that said 'shrewd' period.

His sister came out next. Dressed in the same military uniform as her brother, with the same mahogany eyes and hair, one could tell they were related, but those appearances were where the similarities ended. Whereas Tellot loped down the gangplank, Marqesita glided down slowly, taking a moment to give five of the Caeli respectful nods. Alucier was granted a wink and a barely perceptible smirk.

Tellot wasn't remotely as subtle. When he stopped in front of the Aston sisters, he let his gaze settle in the area of Millerna's chest before even starting in on the greetings. It didn't move until Millerna did.

"My sister and I welcome you to our country as honored guests," she said, turning to Eries and away from Tellot.

Hump or no hump, Eries was grateful that the collar of her dress came up to just under her chin.

"You might want to wait on the formalities," Marqesita cautioned, "Little brother might throw a fit if he thinks he's being left out."

"When does Bennor not throw a fit?" Tellot muttered, showing some signs of intelligence.

Indeed, the third child of the king of Egzardia did look annoyed that no one had waited for him to join them before talking to the Astons. He wasn't like either of his siblings in looks or manner. His skin and hair were several shades paler while his eyes went in the opposite direction. The deep brown color could have been considered rich and warm if he hadn't been glaring at his brother and sister. He stalked down the gangplank before stopping in front of Eries and Millerna. Then, as if a switch had been flicked, he suddenly oozed charm. "It's truly a beautiful country you have in Asturia. I look forward to seeing more of it up close instead of having to admire it from afar in a leviship."

"I'd be honored to give you a tour of Palas once you've settled into your rooms at the palace," Millerna offered.

Eries figured she was doing it to keep away from Tellot and his wandering eyes, but after what Meiden had told her of Bennor, Eries wasn't sure which brother's company she'd prefer her little sister to keep. Meiden made his opinion known by coughing at Eries to prod her into intervening.

"I'm sorry," Eries said, "but in her enthusiasm to make you feel welcome, my sister seems to have forgotten a prior commitment she made to our father for this afternoon. I would be more than happy to take her place though."

Millerna was momentarily puzzled but trusted Eries' judgment. "Thank you for reminding me, Sister." To Bennor, she apologized for her 'forgetfulness'.

"There's no need for apologies," he assured her. "Perhaps you could join us later?"

Millerna replied she'd have to check her schedule. All signs pointed to it being very full of activities she hadn't known about until just a second ago.

They broke up into small groups for the ride back to the palace. Meiden quickly snatched up Millerna, Tellot (the dumber of two evils) and two of the Caeli for his carriage. Bennor got three of the knights, including Revius who dragged Sedgewick along with them. That left Marqesita, Alucier and Eries with the third and final carriage – the outcome Eries had hoped for.

Marqesita commented that she had had a similar wish, though really, she could have done without Eries being in the carriage. "Kidding," she said to Eries, but without much conviction, "I already know how fascinating you find Tellot and Bennor makes you wish he was more like Tellot."

"Trouble in the e' Egzard household?" Alucier asked.

"No, none whatsoever. We're so trouble free, we can send all three of the king's oldest children to an overseas summit without one little worry."

And Eries had thought it was going to be difficult to broach the topic of Marqesita's father's health. Quiet as she had been in her letters, the princess was now providing the perfect chance to get it out in the open.

"I've heard your father has been having some problems," Eries began slowly.

Marqesita arched an accusative eyebrow. The severity of the king's illness was one of Egzardia's most well-guarded secrets. To the world at large, the man had a bad cold that wouldn't go away, nothing more. "Wherever did you hear such a thing?"

"Meiden Fassa, who heard it from your brother, Bennor," Eries answered honestly. She didn't see a need to protect the merchant or his source.

"That little weasel!" Marqesita called her younger brother several more names, sliding into Egzardian for the nastier ones. "What was he thinking?"

"He was thinking he could conspire with a bigger weasel. Bennor indicated there are some complications in the succession."

"And dragging in another country will make everything so simple," Marqesita sneered. "I knew he was angling for the throne but I didn't think he'd be that conniving."

"I don't understand something," Eries said. "How is there even an issue about who will be your father's successor? Tellot's the oldest. Doesn't he get it automatically?"

Marqesita was hesitant to explain. Eries wanted to press her but Alucier cut her off. "I'm sorry about your father. Is it really that bad?"

"It's worse. Our doctors are shocked he's lasted this long. But that's Father; he can't leave anything unsettled. I suppose I should tell you the whole story since you already know the worst part of it.

It started last spring. We'd all noticed he was slowing down, getting tired frequently and losing weight. But we had plenty of excuses. He's getting older. He's under a lot of stress. Those excuses started sounding too facile when he started coughing up blood, or rather, started coughing up blood without being able to hide it. It was barely a month later when he was confined to bed rest. He hasn't gotten up since."

Eries didn't know what to say. Marqesita's father had fallen ill around the same time as King Aston had, but unlike Aston, he was never going to recover.

"I can't imagine how you're feeling," Alucier said. His own parents were hale and hearty and he didn't like thinking of a day when that wouldn't be true.

"It's all right. I've had time to resign myself to it. It might even be a relief when he passes. He's gotten so frail and the doctors give him so much medication for pain… I almost told you about it, Eries, when I came here before the war, but you had your own father to worry about and I was afraid my pessimism would have been contagious."

"Please don't feel as if you should have told me. I completely understand your desire for secrecy. I remember all the gossip about my father when he had his stroke. I did not enjoy overhearing it."

"That's one of the reasons why we've been hiding the truth from anyone outside the family and some select officials," Marqesita said. "News of a sick king travels fast, though not always accurately. It seems the wilder the rumor, the more quickly it spreads, too. And I hate to say this, but most of those rumors were accompanied by talk about how much weaker King Aston's death could make Asturia. With Zaibach going on a rampage, we did not want anyone thinking Egzardia could be similarly weak. We still don't."

"So your brothers coming with you," Alucier guessed, "that's to show everyone that your father is still running the country all by himself?"

"There is another reason – for that and for keeping Father's condition secret." Marqesita hesitated again, but this time she gave an explanation that answered both Alucier's question and the one Eries asked earlier. "There is a problem with the succession. Some of it is my fault too. You see, when it became obvious Father wasn't going to get better, it was assumed that Tellot would take the throne. You know what I think of Tellot. He's my brother and I love him but I wouldn't trust the big oaf to run a food cart, let alone an entire country. I wasn't the only one with misgivings. We have a parliament that's similar to your council but they don't enjoy nearly as much power as your council does. Naturally, the members of parliament wouldn't mind seeing a change in their status. A weak king would be a perfect opportunity to enact that change."

_No kidding, _Eries thought. Meiden and her father were old friends, yet that hadn't stopped the merchant from taking full advantage of Aston's forced absence from the throne. No one on the council had seemed displeased with the extra authority they'd been given either. From the sound of it, the similarities between the council and Egzardia's parliament extended to the power hungry nature of their members.

"So stupid, stupid me," Marqesita continued, "not wanting to see parliament run roughshod over Tellot and take over Egzardia, decided to listen to her little brother when he suggested that we come up with ways to prevent Tellot's succession. I was dumb enough to believe that after removing Tellot, Bennor would be happy to see me take his place so I gave him one. Little rat. Father never should have sent him off to the military academy; it made him all shifty and calculating."

That explained why Marqesita hadn't mentioned Bennor: he hadn't been around. It did not however, explain why Tellot might be out of the running. Eries subtly tried to get Marqesita to stop thinking of new insults for Bennor and get back to her story.

"Of course, you want to hear all the dirt on my family," she said after calling Bennor a word in Egzardian that roughly translated to 'back-stabbing piece of excrement'. "When I call Tellot my brother, I should probably say half-brother. I think he's also a distant cousin too since the family of the man my mother was fooling around with before she married my father once had the e' Egzard name."

Eries didn't have much room to be shocked about Marqesita's revelation considering her nephew's origins. Marqesita's blithe delivery must have been what made her mouth go agape.

Alucier was taken aback as well, though he recovered more quickly. "I'm starting to think having an illegitimate kid on the family tree is a big thing among royalty," he mumbled, not quietly enough to keep Marqesita from hearing him though.

"Oh, really?" she asked with great interest. "I've shared my family secrets, Eries. If you want to take a turn…"

Eries did not. Alucier knew better than to take the turn for her. Kicks to the shin could be quite informative like that.

"Are you absolutely sure that's true?" Eries asked instead.

"Well, my parents had been married for seven months before Tellot was born. And, much like he is still today, he was a _big_ baby. There's no way anyone could pass him off as premature. Fortunately, my parents' engagement lasted for over a year so no one suspected Tellot's 'early' arrival meant anything more than my parents got a little impatient waiting for the wedding night."

"How do you know that's not the case?" Alucier asked. He hoped the answer wouldn't be too explicit. Once again, Marqesita talking about her parents had him thinking about his only this time, he was having thoughts he would rather not have. His oldest sister, Damise, had been 'premature' when she'd been born.

But this was Marqesita, who had never felt the urge to be skittish when being frank would do. "My mother told me. True, they didn't wait for their wedding night but they hadn't been together at all around the time Tellot was conceived. Mother had her distractions and Father had his."

Eries had often imagined the sort of discussions she would have had as an adult with her mother had she not died shortly after Millerna's birth. Most of these fictional talks had been about shared interests such as literature or heart to heart sessions about their family. They were not about Queen Therese's sex life, especially since that would mean her father had a sex life too. As far as Eries was concerned, the man had been celibate before his marriage, after being widowed and, setting biological impossibilities aside, during his marriage as well.

Oblivious to the discomfort of her two companions, Marqesita kept talking. "Up until I blabbed it to Bennor, I was the only one outside of my parents and Tellot's actual father who knew. Father didn't make much of a fuss about it, mostly because it would have been incredibly hypocritical of him. Tellot's not the only half-sibling of mine that's running around out there and I'm not talking about my step-mother's children."

"Your family," Alucier ventured, "It's pretty…free spirited, isn't it?"

"You have no idea." It took her all of a half-second to shift gears. "I'd love to give you one."

"I'm sitting right here." Eries felt it was very important to point that out and not just to Marqesita. Alucier looked as if he wouldn't mind being enlightened. "And getting back to Tellot is there any way Bennor can prove this? Gossip alone isn't enough to prevent succession."

"It's enough for Bennor to make…I guess the best translation is 'a challenge'. It might even be enough to make him the first person to win one." Not seeing any comprehension among her companions, Marqesita went on to explain the little known Egzardian tradition. "In my country, we like to give the younger kids in the royal family a chance. If one of them has what they perceive to be a legitimate reason that the oldest among them isn't worthy of the throne, he or she is allowed to issue a challenge. Parliament hears the argument. If it isn't persuasive enough – which has been the case in every single challenge ever issued – succession goes on as expected and the younger sibling becomes a pariah for having angered the new ruler. If, however, the argument is persuasive…Well, then we have to redo all the coronation announcements. It doesn't happen often and it's not something that we advertise. Nobody wants to admit anything might be amiss with the king."

That explanation managed to confuse Eries further. "Wouldn't it be futile for Bennor to present a challenge to a parliament that wants Tellot in power? Why would he risk alienating himself like that?"

"That would be why the little weasel went to me. Parliament is inclined towards Tellot but they are obliged to follow the law. Ignoring it is how coups get started. If Bennor has evidence that Tellot isn't of the royal line, they can't ignore it. So far that evidence consists of what I told him. Tellot's real father is still alive as well. We Egzardians take our laws very seriously. If pushed into a corner, I won't lie under oath and neither will he."

"Somehow I don't think Bennor feels the same compunction," Alucier sneered.

"Oh, he's been manipulative as hell but I'll give him the credit that he never made any promises to support me. That was an extremely foolish assumption on my part. And the horribly ironic thing is that all he has to do to win his challenge is tell the truth."

Marqesita's lesson on Egzardian politics was as headache inducing to Eries as Meiden's speechifying. Which reminded her of a still missing piece of the puzzle... "If Bennor thinks his chances of success are so high, why is he courting Meiden Fassa? I can understand that he would have influence. If your parliament is like our council, I'm guessing that it has a number of merchants among its members. But given how insular Egzardian politics sound, isn't it a risk – an unnecessary risk at that – to bring in an outsider?"

"I don't think Meiden Fassa has anything to do with Bennor's challenge of Tellot," Marqesita said bitterly.

No wonder she couldn't place the missing piece of Meiden; Eries was trying to fit him into the wrong puzzle. There was still the matter of how Bennor would eliminate his sister from the succession.

Whatever his case may be, Marqesita didn't have time to elaborate. Their carriage arrived at the palace gates. It would look odd if they stayed inside too long.

"Perhaps we can talk later, Eries" Marqesita offered. "You need to do some weasel herding and I need to get out of this damned uniform." To Alucier, she was more generous, though technically she was asking for help. "I don't suppose you could help me with that?"

Eries answered for him. "He'll be weasel herding with me."

"What about Sedgewick?" His whiny tone might have been a joke.

"I think it would benefit him to have some on the job training."

"I wouldn't want to interfere with such important work, Alucier," Marqesita insisted. But we'll have a few minutes while Eries gets changed. You are changing gowns, aren't you? I realize how silly you Asturians are with your giant sleeves but that hump over your ass is taking things too far."

0-0-0-0

Later never came for Eries and Marqesita to finish their talk. Instead, Eries spent the evening with her little brother, first taking him on the tour of the palace and then escorting him to all the prime spots in Palas. At the opera house, she gave herself a break by having the maestro of the orchestra educate Bennor at length about the new production that was set to open in two weeks. Despite having their choice of seats in the empty house, she and Alucier settled in a back corner – so they could discuss where they would go next without interrupting the maestro, of course.

Bennor didn't give any indication if he bought this excuse, but, as Eries had spent the last several hours learning, Bennor seldom ever gave any indication of anything. It was yet another thing to add to her list of misgivings concerning him.

"Think he'd notice if we slipped out on him?" Alucier asked, more-than-half-serious about it too.

"It wouldn't do to run out on a visiting dignitary and leave him stranded in the middle of a city he doesn't know. Besides, could you imagine the temper he'd have when he finally found his way back?"

"It's getting dark. Palas has lots of twisty streets. Maybe he'd make a misstep and fall into a canal. They can be surprisingly deep, you know."

"Not the canals between here and the palace. All he'd have to do is stand up and he'd be fine."

"Maybe he hit his head when he fell. Maybe some anonymous passerby in a Caeli uniform would hold his head underwater."

Plotting the death of a foreign prince was something Eries would, as a rule, find abhorrent but few rules existed without an exception. She never really liked playing the good hostess anyway. All the forced smiling and good cheer made her tired, which made her irritable, which made it harder to smile and be cheerful, which made her more tired and irritable and so on and so forth until she felt like doing something drastic, such as throwing her guests into a canal. With Bennor, the cycle had started on irritable.

At least she had Alucier with her instead Sedgewick. That was a small mercy to be thankful for. "I'm sorry I dragged you into this," she told him. "I'm sure you would have rather gone with Marqesita."

"How can you compare having a beautiful woman throwing herself at me all night to playing tour guide? Especially after the aforementioned beautiful woman had just explained in detail why we should hate the guy we're giving the tour to?"

"It does make the small talk hard, doesn't it?"

"Good thing Benny likes it so much. All we have to do is nod along. 'What marvelous architecture!' Nod. 'That's such a charming painting of the royal family!' Nod. I might nod a little more vigorously if he could be bothered to crack a facial expression that remotely resembled the sentiments he's expressing."

"He is a hard one to read. I guess that's how he fooled Marqesita."

"I don't suppose you have any idea what he's got on her?"

Actually, Eries had hoped Alucier had some clue. "You seem to know her more intimately than I do," she said when he asked why she thought he'd know.

"One, never repeat that sentence to Revius. You'll only give him ideas. Two, our intimacies go no further than long discussions."

"I didn't mean it _that_ way," Eries insisted. She really hadn't. If Alucier doubted her, he could use the blush rising in her cheeks as proof.

"I didn't mean to embarrass you either. I just wanted you to know Sita isn't as bad as she presents herself to be."

"Which begs the question – why does she present herself in that manner?"

"Well, she is partially…not bad, just very different from traditional Asturian mores. I wonder what they think of her in Egzardia."

"I wonder if what they think of her in Egzardia has anything to do with how Bennor plans to block her succession."

It was an interesting question, but they weren't going to seek its answer from Bennor. He'd finished his discussion with the maestro and was heading towards them with a hint of a frown on his lips. They couldn't discern what was displeasing him and they didn't care to find out.

o-o-o-o-o

Eries was dressed more appropriately the following morning when she returned with Millerna to the leviship yard to greet another delegation. Or she had thought she was dressed more appropriately. She started to feel stuffy when Van Fanel exited his leviship in loose pants and a tunic. The dressiest thing on him was his sword. Nonetheless, she went forward with the formal greetings. Fanel responded with formalities of his own while his catgirl companion, Merle, showed remarkable restraint by standing stiffly behind him. It was a definite contrast to the last time the two had been in Asturia. Merle had practically been an attachment on her Van-sama's arm and Fanel had had little use and even less patience for royal protocol.

There was a third person in the party – a middle-aged man wearing standard Fanelian samurai armor. Fanel introduced him as his advisor, Megid. Eries remarked to herself that one of the man's first pieces of advice must have been to brush up on kingly etiquette. Fanel had acquitted himself well during the last time he went before an assembly of world leaders, but that had been when he was trying to unite frightened nations into a war against Zaibach. His passion for a just cause wouldn't be similarly inspirational to people now bickering over borders. This new calm professionalism would serve him and his country better. He should still do something about the clothes, Eries thought, but she gave him points for ditching the worn leather gloves.

Millerna too was pleased (and amused) by the change but promptly insisted it wasn't necessary for her. Fanel looked askance at Eries as if he doubted she held the same opinion as her sister.

Eries couldn't blame him for the doubt and with little prior contact with Fanel and Merle, she was the fifth wheel. A truly gracious hostess knows when to hand her guests over. "Millerna, why don't you take them back to the palace by yourself?" she suggested. "Cesario's delegation is due in another hour and it seems like such a waste for the both of us to keep running back and forth."

Millerna readily took up the offer. She hadn't been looking forward to spending her day stuck in a carriage ferrying guest after guest to the palace. She was grateful to be off the hook. She wanted to do some catching up too, though not necessarily with Fanel and Merle. As the footman shut the carriage door, Eries overheard Millerna asking Fanel if he had heard anything from Hitomi.

With an hour to kill, Eries debated heading into Palas or staying put. Believing Fanel neither wanted nor needed to be impressed with a line-up of Caeli (especially since the one Caeli he actually knew was still on leave), Millerna thought it was best to dispense with the display. Eries had agreed at the time but now this left her with company that consisted solely of the footman of the second carriage and Sedgewick, who looked anxious about Millerna traveling without the benefit of a guard. He did not look above expressing that anxiety in detail.

Palas it was then. She could go to the shopping district and be back with some time to spare. Maybe she could buy herself some aspirin.

0-0-0-0-0

She should have bought some kind of medication. After skipping on meeting the Fanelian delegation, Meiden had decided to show up for the Cesarians. He was at the dockyard, waiting, when Eries returned from her shopping trip. He wasn't the only one there as it had been decided that the Cesarians would find a mini-parade of Caeli impressive but since the knights were busy talking amongst themselves, Meiden was free to chat with Eries.

"I was worried that you might stand up our guests, Princess," he said with a nod towards a rapidly approaching leviship.

"As you did with King Fanel earlier?" was Eries' reply.

"I had an emergency business meeting this morning. I couldn't get out of it."

"Ah, how nice it is that you were able to get out in time for this meeting."

Meiden's cheerful insincerity was more than a match for Eries'. "Isn't it nice how these things work out?"

Picking a catfight with Meiden over this wasn't worth it by any means. It wasn't as if Fanel missed the merchant's presence. His absence was actually a more respectful tribute to the king. The Cesarian ship would be setting down in a few minutes as well. Those onboard probably wouldn't care for their official welcome to Asturia to be watching her second princess and the head of the royal council sniping at each like children - intelligent children with clever retorts, but still children. Eries let the whole thing drop by hurrying over to the circle of Caeli with Sedgewick trailing after her.

She was complaining before she had even reached her audience. "He doesn't have to come out here. Other countries don't care about some councilman."

"What about the council?" asked Alucier over his shoulder. He was still talking to one of his fellow knights and hadn't turned around to look at Eries. If he had, he wouldn't have asked for elaboration.

"I said Meiden doesn't have to be here because nobody outside of Asturia cares about our council."

"They probably do care considering how influential Asturia is. They just wouldn't know a councilman if they fell over him."

"If only someone would fall over him, preferably while holding a sharp knife."

Alucier laughed at the dark humor while Sedgewick blanched at his princess being so blithe about the injury and/or death of a figure as prominent as Meiden Fassa. Surely her highness couldn't be serious, though her dislike of the man was plain. Lord Fassa's intentions couldn't have been bad. He knew he was out of order to speak up, but he hated seeing disagreement between his superiors. "Perhaps he thought you would like some assistance with the Cesarians since your sister will not be here?" Addressing Alucier now, he asked, "She did make it back to the palace safely, I trust?"

"She's fine," he answered impatiently. Alucier's sole experience in dealing Sedgewick had been yesterday's brief meeting, but it justified the faith he had in Revius' and Eries' assessments of him. Even if it hadn't, he preferred the version of things that had Sedgewick being but a pale shadow of a replacement. Everybody's ego needs a stoking every now and then.

"I'm glad to hear that. It didn't seem right to send her off on her own."

Eries snorted at this. Millerna had spent the majority of her teenage years going off on her own, regardless of who thought it didn't seem right. Eries would have done with less supervision herself if Alucier hadn't been her friend as well as a guard.

And Millerna hadn't been alone. "King Fanel was traveling with her. You did notice he was armed, didn't you?"

"Of course, your highness." What kind of guard would he be not to notice when someone was carrying a weapon? "But King Fanel is our guest. I wouldn't want to impose on him by expecting him to assume my duties."

He was right about that but after Sedgewick had naively defended Meiden, she wasn't feeling very charitable to him. "I do not believe the king is averse to fighting to protect others."

"Besides," Alucier added, his protectiveness of Eries causing him to dogpile on. "King Fanel was trained by Balgus Ganesha. If you had been on that carriage and if that carriage had been attacked, the only thing that would have been left for you to do is clean up when the king was finished."

The dropping of the name of one of the Three Swordsman of Gaea clearly impressed Sedgewick. He stammered that he hadn't known that and then went quiet as he walked away contemplating what it would have been like to have such a legend as a master.

"You should keep that in mind for the next time when he starts getting on your nerves," Alucier whispered to Eries. "Just mention a famous swordsman and he'll shut right up."

"That'll seem natural, me shouting names at him for no reason. Balgus Ganesha! Adama Ish!" She had to stop there because she couldn't remember the third Swordsman's name.

"Lig Vieta," Revius helpfully whispered into Eries' ear, slightly startling her. She hadn't heard him approach at all. "You non-swordy people always forget him. Now a true swordsman like me could tell you all about him."

Alucier jerked his head in Sedgewick's direction as if to ask how much he might know about Lig Vieta.

"He could probably write a ten page essay. I'm betting our little Sedgey has real neat and tiny handwriting too," Revius answered.

Alucier and Eries looked at him doubtfully.

"You don't think he got the assignment to be your guard because of his winning personality, do you? I've seen him practice a couple of times. He's good. Not 'me' good, mind you, but 'Alucier' good."

Alucier took that as a minor insult. To Eries, it was an impressive recommendation.

"There's talk, you know," Revius added.

Again, his companions took his words differently. Eries had no idea what Revius meant but Alucier understood completely. Or rather he understood to what Revius was referring. It was the reason why Revius was making that reference that confused him to the point where all he could do is ask one word questions. "Him? Caeli?"

"Him. Caeli. Contender. Yes. Somebody's got to fill the twelfth slot Lord Ramkin's leaving open. Wouldn't it be great to have two redheads we hate in the Order?"

The first redhead was an older knight by the name of Fortanen who had been a Caeli for several years more than Alucier. Most of his fellows regarded him as a gruff but capable man. He was liked mostly because his appointment brought an end to the cronyism that had been tainting the selection process for decades. The last legitimate swordsman before Fortanen had been Lord Ramkin and he had taken his oath nearly forty-five years ago. Fortanen was disliked because he was, as Revius put it, a 'hardass' with little tolerance for anyone who didn't take their duties completely seriously. This, naturally, put him on Alucier and Revius' bad sides. He moved even further into that territory when it became clear he was Alucier's closest rival for the post of commander of the Caeli.

"I think that's what bothers me about Sedgewick," Alucier mused. "He's Fortanen after twenty years of bitterness soaked in."

"Really? I thought he bothered you because he took your place as Eries' guard."

Though he thought Revius deserved it, Alucier held back on telling him to shut up. The Cesarian leviship was about to set down, the lines of Caeli by the landing area were two men short, Eries was not in position at the end of those lines and Meiden Fassa (who was in position) didn't seem pleased by any of this.

With some un-regal hustling everyone was where they were supposed to be when the gangplank was extended. Eries paid very close attention to Meiden. She had no proof he was even up to anything with anyone in Cesario and it wasn't as if he was going to make any obvious mistakes such as greeting a member of their delegation with a wink and a nod to brand him as a co-conspirator. But she could dream. And she could make Meiden uncomfortable, which would make watching him like a hawk both practical and entertaining.

Meiden did his best to deprive Eries of information and amusement. His voice and posture were even throughout the entire exchange of pleasantries despite her steady gaze. He even let Eries direct everyone to their carriages so she would control who was talking to whom on the ride to the palace. Only when the carriages were about to leave did Eries catch him making a grimace in her direction and she only saw that because it had been reflected in the glass in the carriage door just as it closed.

She believed it had been worth the effort.

o-o-o-o-o

The Cesarians were about as forthcoming as Bennor had been last evening. They were friendlier (or better, at any rate, at feigning friendliness) but Eries gleaned nothing from them during the carriage ride that would support her suspicions of Meiden, even in the eyes of the most conspiracy minded. They expressed concern about Basram and stressed the importance of standing together to ensure neither they nor anyone else used an Energist bomb again – nothing Eries hadn't expected to hear. She wondered if the conversation in Meiden's carriage was on a similar track.

The day ended with a formal dinner in the royal hall. As a small blessing, there hadn't been enough of the oversized chairs that Eries hated to accommodate everyone so – lest a dignitary get offended that the back of their chair didn't reach up to the ceiling – they had been carted out and replaced with more sensible furniture. With so many officials here with so many different customs, getting everyone on equal and comfortable ground was a priority.

Millerna was seated at one end of the table, Eries had the other. Meiden, still aware he was under Eries' observation, took a seat near his daughter-in-law even though it also put him close to Van Fanel. Having changed into attire that resembled a lighter yet more formal version of his advisor's samurai armor, the young king actually presented an imposing, regal figure. He was far cry from the boy who had basically sulked out of the dining room after blowing off King Aston's personal invitation those short months ago before the war. Merle was still by his side but she had gotten in to the act as well, displaying the kind of flawless table manners Eries had tried (and mostly failed) to instill into Celena. This boded well for Eries. Fanel was playing the diplomat game, something he wouldn't have done unless he was taking this summit very seriously.

Meiden made some concessions to this by trying to include Fanel in his conversation with the Cesarian delegation. Eries couldn't really hear what was being said but it became clear from whose lips were moving and whose lips weren't that Fanel, with some help from Millerna, had managed to turn things around so that Meiden was eventually shut out save for an occasional interjection. Eries didn't know what Fanel paid his advisor, but whatever the amount, the man was still underpaid.

On her end, talk was just as lively. This was, unfortunately, despite the fact that Tellot was the only one speaking. Eries tried paying attention. Tellot was even behaving, confining himself to the topic of Egzardia's beaches. Somehow this led into a lecture on Egzardia's wines and then Egzardia's cuisine. Eries hadn't been able to follow. Between monitoring the other side of the table and the silent war taking place in front of her between Marqesita and Bennor over who could cut their meat into the tiniest shreds, she was too distracted.

o-o-o-o-o

The previous day had been very busy; today was going to be worse. The last three countries, Freid, Basram and Zaibach were all scheduled to arrive by noon. Eries was only looking forward to her nephew's arrival. She wasn't alone in holding that sentiment. As everyone had been leaving the royal hall at the end of dinner, Eries had overheard one of the Cesarians asking why Zaibach had been allowed to attend at all. Nobody had been quick to answer him. Basram was about as popular. While no one had contested their right to attend, when the same Cesarian that had commented on Zaibach said they should pat down everyone in Basram's delegation before letting them come to the negotiation table, he had drawn a number of nervous laughs. One of his colleagues had then suggested the seating arrangements be checked to make sure no one had to sit with his back to a Basramian.

That wasn't strictly fair. Basram hadn't betrayed the alliance, they only had sneaked a highly destructive and indiscriminate weapon into their midst for intended use on the enemy. The distinction was close enough that Eries understood why the Cesarians' jokes had met with agreement.

It did bother her that with all the negativity towards Basram that part of Meiden's plan looked to be a foregone conclusion. It was more bothersome that Eries hadn't been able to come up with an alternate solution yet.

There was time to think of something later and really, she shouldn't be trying to do it all on her own. The whole purpose of the summit was to decide things together, not to one-up Meiden Fassa. If she lost sight of that, she was just as bad as the merchant.

That didn't preclude her from playing a little unfair. Eries didn't want him intruding on what she and Millerna had hoped to be more a family reunion than a formal welcome when Chid arrived so she had convinced Tellot that he would like a tour too and then volunteered Meiden for the job of his guide. She had gotten Meiden out of her hair and given him some payback for the other evening with Bennor – a productive morning, all and all. If she could handle Basram and Zaibach with similar ease, the day might not be the mess she had thought it would be.

Her father wasn't cooperating. Millerna's hopes of taking him out to the dockyard to greet Chid had been dashed when he claimed he wasn't feeling well enough for the trip. Millerna was in the process of telling him why that was a cheap excuse when Eries entered her father's room.

"Your doctor said you walked the entire length of the wing yesterday!"

"And that's left me tired today."

"So tired," Eries asked, joining her sister's side, "That your entire personality has been altered and you, King Grava Aston, are now pleading weakness?"

"Pleading practicality," he amended. "It's hardly a show of strength for Asturia to roll her king out in a wheelchair."

Eries let Millerna handle this one. Emotional pleas were probably going to be more effective than purely logical ones.

"We only want you to come out to see Chid. You'll be back in bed before Basram and Zaibach even get here. Chid's not going to care whether you're sitting down or standing up."

"His advisors will. Advisors tend to have a great deal of influence when the ruler of the country is a five-year-old."

"That five-year-old is your grandson."

"Whom I haven't seen since he turned four. Are you really expecting a touching reunion, Millerna?"

"We're the only family he has left," she insisted.

"Yes, because his father died in an attack that I abetted!"

No plea was going to counter that argument, especially since both Millerna and Eries had been left too dumbstruck to make one.

"Go now," Aston ordered. His daughters complied.

Millerna wasn't comfortable saying anything until she and Eries were out of the palace. "I didn't know he felt like that," she said – to herself more than to Eries.

Eries knew her father had some lingering guilt over Freid but she hadn't guessed its depths. "He told me if Marlene had still been alive, he never would have helped Zaibach. Maybe he feels he should have put up the same fight for Marlene's son."

"That's what I thought when I was going to Freid to warn them."

"And what do you think now?"

Eries wasn't trying to put Millerna on the spot. She herself had put a lot of thought into the question of what might have happened if their father had told Strategos Folken to take his fleet and leave. 'Nothing good' was the only conclusion she had ever come to. Eries wanted to know if her sister had come up with anything better.

"I think," Millerna spoke slowly, "that it's easier to say what the right choice is if you're not the one who was to make it. I'm glad you're the one on the council and not me."

Millerna's understanding meant a lot to Eries. The upcoming summit would be full of choices. Few of them would be black and white. But having someone who believed you would always try to do what was right made it easier to do just that.

o-o-o-o-o

Upon seeing Chid, Eries wished her father would have come. The boy was happy to see his aunts and asked about his grandfather. Millerna made excuses about his health, which Chid accepted with concern. She also explained that Van Fanel and Merle had arrived yesterday and that Fanel had had some communication with Hitomi Kanzaki. That cheered Chid, though Eries could swear there was another person he would like to hear about. Chid had looked a little too long at the lines of Caeli.

Eries was not the only person to notice this. A tall man in his entourage had followed Chid's gaze and had frowned slightly when he saw where it settled. The man bore more than a passing resemblance to Mahad dal Freid and Eries assumed he had to be the cousin Meiden had mentioned. Kaja, the young monk who served as Chid's primary advisor, introduced him as such.

The first time Eries had met Mahad years ago, he had surprised her by being unlike any ruler she had ever encountered before. He had arrived in Asturia following an ugly incident between an Asturian fleet and a band of air pirates in Freidian territory. Not only had he taken responsibility for it but he had hand delivered the men who had committed the crime. Eries had yet to see a gesture as bold and meaningful.

She didn't know what she had been expecting from Nuri en Freid. Meiden hadn't thought much of him but Eries thought even less of Meiden. She had admired her brother-in-law and would have been glad to discover his cousin shared more with him than looks but that was an unfair expectation to have. And unlike Mahad, Nuri didn't seem to be concerned with making any gesture to help her get a better grasp of his character beyond politely nodding to her and Millerna.

Even Bennor had played at being sociable. Nuri just watched and, Eries suspected, judged. What had that frown meant exactly? Meiden had said Nuri was not a supporter of Chid's rule but he hadn't said why. The truth of Chid's paternity would be ample reason to object, but Mahad never would have stood for anyone – not even family – speaking ill of his beloved Marlene. That truth would not have existed in Freid.

It could be a simple matter of Chid's age. Five was a ridiculously young age at which to be running a country. He'd have advisors by his side but those men were young themselves. Too many of Mahad's men had been killed defending Freid. Kaja, the senior of the few survivors, didn't look much older than Eries.

If that was Nuri's objection, Eries couldn't really blame him. She knew how precocious Chid was and still worried about him. That worry would never translate into a withdraw of support. Mahad had gone to his death believing in his son. It would be an insult to her brother-in-law not to share his faith.

But there was Nuri, who apparently had no qualms against making such an offense against his cousin. From what she knew of the monks of Freid, their strict faith and sense of duty made them extremely loyal to their leaders. Being of the royal family, Nuri should have been raised within the monks' tradition. Chid had told her of his own lessons often enough. Nuri's break with that tradition either bespoke of a weakness in his character or of a deep strength in his convictions.

Oddly, she hoped for the former. That would make him easy to dismiss. If it was the latter, she might just have one more opponent to add to the rapidly expanding list.

o-o-o-o-o

In a bad case of timing (and for Basram, a bad case of symbolism), Zaibach's and Basram's delegations arrived one on top of the other. Eries had to address both of them at once. Meiden, a believer in turnabout being fair play, had sent a note expressing his regrets but the tour was taking much longer than expected and he couldn't be there to help out. Millerna was long gone. Chid had wanted to spend more time with his aunts. Both of them staying with him had been out of the question, but it had been decided one could be spared. Rather than making her nephew chose, Eries had told Millerna to go with him. They were, Eries had to admit, closer anyway. Plus, after letting her go with Fanel yesterday and Chid today, Millerna would owe her a hell of a favor.

Eries zipped through the formalities. A couple of the Caeli who were used to the unabridged version gave questioning looks but kept silent in their lines. It wasn't their duty to complain. They kind of preferred the shorter speech anyway. Neither delegation seemed to notice anything was different. Even if they had, they couldn't afford to take any offense. They had some amends to be making and that called for humility. Eries had no problem with exploiting her guests' weak position. She had everyone on the carriages and back to the palace at record speed.

Despite the rush and Meiden's earlier note, the merchant was right there in the courtyard when they arrived. He smiled at Eries and offered to take over for her. If anyone else had made the same offer, she would have taken it in a heartbeat. But this was Meiden Fassa. She didn't trust him to do anything out of the kindness of his own heart. She doubted whether he had a heart.

She thought he was waiting for her to leave so he could take up his business with whichever Basramian (or worse, Basramian_s_) he was in league with. Eries, therefore, decided not to leave and signaled to Alucier to come over. If misery loved company, paranoia wouldn't mind having some either.

o-o-o-o-o

It was late afternoon when Eries finally returned to her room. Meiden had been in fine form, talking past the point where most people would have gone hoarse. There'd be another dinner to get through this evening – this time with even more people – but after that she could get some sleep. The summit would officially start the day after tomorrow, giving her some free time.

She wasn't too deep into making plans to visit with Allen and Celena tomorrow when she spotted two papers with the Asturian royal seal on them lying in the middle of her bed. There was a note in Meiden's handwriting saying he thought she might appreciate a copy of the letters each delegate would be receiving. He also expressed his belief that the short notice for the events wouldn't affect their quality. Eries gleaned a third thing from the note: Meiden hadn't taken anybody on any tour at all but had instead, been plotting all morning.

The first letter announced the beginning of a tournament in three days to decide which of Asturia's fine swordsmen would become the next Caeli. The tournament rounds were being scheduled to coincide with breaks during the summit so the delegates would be able to enjoy them. This surprised her. Neither Alucier nor Revius had said anything about it. Then again, with the way Meiden was acting, it was probably going to be a surprise to them too.

The second letter had tomorrow's date on it. It was for a formal ball. She should have seen that one coming. Even though it had been decided that the seriousness of the summit precluded forcing everyone to indulge Asturia's fondness for dressing up and dancing, Meiden must not have been able to resist.

Both events screamed 'distraction'. She couldn't figure out to what end though. She cursed Meiden under her breath but it was unsatisfactory. She needed to get Marqesita to teach her some of the curses she used. The Egzardian language had a harsh tone and a fondness for stuffing a variety of insults into a single word that would suit Meiden perfectly.

* * *

Next up: 'Party Girl'. Exposition hell has come to an end and all the major players are here – except for Dryden, who will be fashionably late. Let's make them dance, shall we? Expect Eries to be the belle of the ball and Allen to hear a long overdue confession. Interested yet? 

-- The actual name of the song is 'Trash, Trampoline and the Party Girl' but it was released as simply 'Party Girl' on the U2 Live Under a Blood Red Sky album. Just covering my bases on the off-chance there's an anal-retentive U2 fan out there :p


	5. Party Girl

Intrigues of a Princess

IV: Party Girl

-

Eries was not the only person taken aback by the sudden scheduling changes. Alucier even took time out of his busy morning to attend breakfast with Eries, Revius and Seclas for the express purpose of complaining. He wasn't entirely successful. Everyone else wanted to complain too and as a result, there was a lot of angry whining in the air but no one was really listening to it.

"How in the hell am I supposed to manage security and attend the tournament? And since I can't do both, what's that going to look like? A successor has to be named before Lord Ramkin retires and he has to retire before the new Caeli gets named. Jichia knows we can't have thirteen Caeli at the same time. The universe will explode or something."

"I cannot believe Meiden wants to throw some stupid ball. The future of Gaea is being decided and somehow, he thinks it's remotely appropriate. He keeps blathering on about how important it is for Asturia to show strength yet his idea of a demonstration of our power is to compel everyone into making small talk and eating snacks between dances. I really don't see how showcasing our more frivolous traditions is going to put us in a positive light."

"The barracks were buzzing this morning. All the potential candidates are wondering if they'll be ready. Truth to tell, some of the best swordsmen I've seen aren't even stationed in Palas and I don't know if they'll be able to get back in time to participate."

"How was I supposed to know it was her sister? They don't look anything alike. They do both have the same mole on their right cheek, which is kind of weird but it's not like I'm thinking about moles when I'm with a woman. She was supposed to be working that night anyway!"

That comment managed to be heard. Alucier, Eries and Seclas ceased their own protestations to stare at Revius. What they were hoping to accomplish was unknown. They could have stared at Revius until they went blind. They weren't going to instill any shame into him.

He was not without a sense of perspective, however, so Revius conceded that Alucier and Seclas had much bigger concerns than he did. He didn't think Eries had it that rough though. "So it's one more ball to go to. We're sort of infamous for the things. Maybe he thought everybody was expecting one anyway, so it would be rude not to have one. Who cares? You've been to enough of these things; you should be able to sleep your way through it."

Eries did have an uncanny ability to let her thoughts drift and half-doze through the more tedious affairs. But having to attend the ball wasn't her complaint. It was her sneaking suspicion that Meiden was using the ball as a means to some bad end that was bothering her. The man had managed to plan the whole thing without her knowing about it until she got an invitation after all.

"Maybe his super secret plan is to get you so paranoid," Alucier joked, "that you make a complete fool out of yourself at the summit and no one will listen to you."

Eries was not amused. "And how much of a fool have I made myself out to be now?"

"You seem perfectly rational to me," Seclas responded quickly. That was the consensus between Alucier and Revius as well. They nodded their heads in agreement quite vigorously.

Calmer now, Eries wondered if there might be some truth to what Revius had said. Every dignitary that had ever come to Asturia had had some kind of banquet or ball thrown in his or her honor. It was more or less an automatic stop on the itinerary. There was a chance that leaving it off could have been misinterpreted by their guests. Asturia had been chosen as the host country with the knowledge of the type of host Asturia liked to be. As much as Eries disliked these things, others enjoyed them. The balls were an opportunity for everyone to get acquainted on friendlier ground than a negotiation table.

They were also an opportunity to talk freely with people whom it might otherwise be suspicious to be seen talking to.

There was the paranoia again. The decision to not hold a ball had been a close vote for the council. A couple questions from a couple of their guests would have been enough to sway a couple of nay-sayers into changing their votes. Eries wouldn't know. She had been busy with Freid, Basram and Zaibach yesterday. Meiden, thanks to Eries, had had plenty of time to go to council meetings.

Now she wondered if there was some truth to Alucier's joke. Meiden had laid out his goals to her. He knew how she had reacted and that she was keeping an eye on him. It wasn't out of his scope of talent and lack of ethics to get her worked up about nothing just so he'd be able to get away with something.

Her fights with Meiden were all about momentum and the upper hand. Every time she had lost, it was because she had ceded one or the other or both to him. Pouncing at every little shadow Meiden cast was going to waste her time and make her miss it when the real Meiden made his move.

_It's just a ball_, she told herself. _It'll be just as Revius said. Smile, chatter, dance. The same things I've done a hundred times before._

She was not going to let Meiden shake her with something as innocuous as a surprise ball. She was also not going to let him cause her to change her plans. She hadn't seen Allen and Celena since the day before she had been reinstated on the council. Once the summit started, she didn't know when she'd be able to see them again.

"Actually," Eries conceded, "I think I might be jumping to conclusions. And if I don't stop, I could be a raving fool by the time this summit is over."

"Great, now that that's settled, can we get back to complaining about the tournament?" Alucier asked.

"You'll have to complain amongst yourselves. I have other plans. If you'll excuse me, I need to find someone to take me to the Schezar estate."

"Don't go looking for Sedgewick," Seclas said as if Eries had been considering it. "He had already been up for an hour practicing when I did my walk-through of the barracks. I don't think he plans on stopping until he's out of the tournament. Or until he's won it."

Revius flashed Alucier an 'I told you so' grin. To rub it in, he asked Seclas what kind of odds he would give Sedgewick – if Caeli weren't such honorable gentlemen who scorned betting that is.

Eries left them to their ponderings. Honorable princess really shouldn't consider taking three-to-one odds either.

o-o-o-o-o

Eries' expectations for a slow, peaceful day at the Schezar estate were dashed the minute she arrived there. Renovations were bustling along as usual. The driver of her carriage had made the mistake of lingering once he dropped her off and had been pressed into service to help hoist a section of new roof. His help didn't seem to actually be needed but the workers did get a kick out of watching him fumble for a good grip on the wooden beams.

Inside, things were even busier. Someone had begun stacking trunks in the foyer. Going further into the house, Eries ran into Gaddes, who was dragging another trunk for the stack behind him.

"Allen and Celena aren't planning on moving, are they?" she asked him.

"They weren't planning on it, but they are." He added that Allen was up in his room and he would be able to explain everything to her. He apologized for not having time to explain it himself because he had many more stacks of trunks to make.

On her way to Allen's room, Eries passed by Celena's. The door was open and Celena was inside, casually tossing items of clothing into yet another trunk. She waved when she noticed Eries, revealing a bandaged right hand.

"What happened to your hand, Celena?"

"Stupid owl," she pouted. "I didn't want to pet her anyway. I was just being nice to her because she belongs to Allen. I'm glad she flew off. Allen was kind of mad about it but she'll come back. Allen says she always does."

"You tried to pet Natal?" Eries was no expert on owls and their reactions to human touch but she did have a good understanding of how 'enthusiastic' Celena could be. Talon digging into hand would have been the inevitable conclusion to that set up. "I hope she didn't hurt you that badly."

"Just a scratch," Celena claimed, "But Aelia put half a bottle of antiseptic on it and insisted I keep it wrapped up. It is kind of itchy under there."

Itchiness was the sum total of Celena's complaints, so Eries let it drop. If Allen was keeping up with Dr. Atrineu's instructions, he would have already lectured her on the dangers of playing rough with semi-wild animals anyway. "I hope it feels better by the time you get to wherever it is that you're going."

Celena hoped so too but she didn't catch Eries' hint and specify where she was going. She kept packing, stopping only to wonder if she had put too many clothes in when the trunk started to overflow.

"Perhaps if you folded them more neatly," Eries suggested. _Or folded them at all._

Celena ignored the helpful advice. Instead, she concluded she had the exact right amount of clothes and stomped them down with her foot to make them fit. She had to sit on the trunk to make the latch close but when it finally did, she used that as proof that she had been correct. Eries did not envy Gaddes for having to lug the thing down the steps to the foyer. Nor did she envy Aelia, who would probably have to go over every last piece of clothing in there with an iron before Celena could wear them again.

"All done," she announced. "Want to go help Allen with his stuff?"

Allen, meticulous as he was, would not want the kind of help his sister would provide. He might endure it, then dump out his trunk and start over as soon as she was out of sight. To save him the extra time, Eries told Celena not to worry, she'd help Allen out.

That was fine with her. "I'll go see if Aelia needs any help, then." She practically skipped out of the room, making Eries feel doubly sorry for the maid.

As it turned out, Allen didn't need any help at all. He was packing the last of his things when Eries knocked at his door. She waited at the threshold, looking meaningfully between him and the trunk by the foot of his bed. "Do you and Celena have any travel plans you care to share with me?"

"I didn't know about them myself until last night," he said. He retrieved some papers from the bedside table and handed them to Eries. Two of them were identical to the letters she had received about the ball and the Caeli tournament. The third paper was a notice canceling his leave of absence. He was to report to Palas first thing tomorrow morning and stay there for special duty as part of the security force for the summit.

"What does 'special duty' mean?" Eries asked. Allen shrugged; he didn't know either.

"I guess I'll find out when I report to Lord Ramkin, assuming he knows. The last time I spoke to him, he told me to take as much time as I needed. Of course, the last time I spoke to Alucier and Revius, they said there wouldn't be any problem with security."

"That was before Meiden Fassa decided to hold two large events at the last second. Now everyone else has to run around to make sure it all can happen."

Allen shared her distaste for the merchant. But being a gentleman, he refrained from being openly harsh towards him. Eries could take good care of that on her own anyway. That didn't mean Allen was without complaints. "I hate uprooting Celena but I didn't want to leave her here either. Renting a villa in Palas seemed to be the only alternative."

"So that's why it looks as if the two of you are fleeing the country."

"Just the estate and just for a little while. It seems like so much effort for what will probably be a week or two."

It was a lot of effort for a security assignment that could have been handled by one of the hundreds of guards on the palace staff. The 'special duty' must be very special if it required rescinding Allen's leave. Eries tried to be positive. "You were a prominent figure in the conflict with Zaibach. Van Fanel knows and trusts you. Lord Ramkin could have thought your presence would carry more meaning."

"Maybe," Allen said. He didn't sound so sure. "It will be good to see Van again. I haven't seen him since the end of the war. I'm sure he'll be up for a sparring session or two for old time's sake."

"I don't know. From the looks of it, he's taking this summit very seriously. Fanelia's history of political isolation may be coming to an end."

Allen laughed softly. "Really? I do want to see that." Contemplating the image, a hint of pride colored his smile. "I guess he's finally starting to charge more aggressively."

o-o-o-o-o

It was a good thing that Eries' driver had been detained. The luggage alone took up most of the two carriages Allen had, leaving little space for human passengers. Allen and Celena would have been able to squeeze in, but Allen was taking Aelia and Gaddes along to help run the household. Celena could have stomped on the carriage door until her foot fell off; it never would have closed.

"I think you packed too much, Boss," Gaddes commented.

Aelia insisted this was not so. Then she started lecturing him on how much was involved in running a proper household. "And don't get me started on how important it will be for Miss Celena to be well-dressed. She's visited the city before but living in it is a different matter entirely."

Celena didn't like the sounds of this. "What are you talking about?" she asked the maid. Gaddes shook his head. Celena had gotten Aelia started.

"You're a young lady from a respected family. You'll be in the heart of Palas. Everyone will see you, day in and day out…."

Eries missed the rest of the speech after her driver shut the carriage door. Between her own experiences as a princess and the increasingly horrified expression on Celena's face, she gathered it contained a lot of rules and regulations about being a dignified lady and a graceful representative of her family. Allen looked relieved that he had given into Celena and let her ride with Aelia while he rode with Eries and Gaddes had a carriage all to himself.

"You're going to hear all about this when we get to the villa, you know," Eries warned him in jest.

"I know," he replied very seriously.

"Where is this villa anyway?" Eries would be hearing all about it too and wanted to know about how long she had until the whining started.

"It's right off the canal that runs in front of the palace, just before you get to the market district."

"Near Micha Revius' estate?"

"On Micha Revius' estate. It's his guest villa. Revius said his parents had been trying to rent it for ages. I sent Gaddes into the city first thing this morning to make sure it was still available."

"And for once," Eries said drolly, "Knowing Revius has actually paid off."

"It's the second time it's paid off. His father gave me a discount when I commissioned him to make your earcuffs."

Her hand went up to touch the cuff on her right ear. Of course she was wearing them today. She wore them everyday. "Twice then. How terrible of me to forget."

"It seems like such a long time ago…"

It had been four years almost. Allen had given Eries the earcuffs for her eighteenth birthday. Her twenty-second was fast approaching. So many things had happened since then, from Marlene's death to the war, yet somehow Eries and Allen had gotten through it all. _A bit wiser,_ a lot_ more mature and in the end, closer_, Eries thought.

Micha Revius' guest villa was set far back from the main house, giving the Schezars enough privacy that Celena didn't have too much to fear from Aelia's predictions. She still repeated them (or rather, her exaggerated versions of them) to Allen alongside a pledge to stay indoors if the alternative was to sit stiffly and sip tea on the front porch all day so everyone could see what a lady she was.

"All I said was that young ladies frequently go to tea parties! I didn't mean to upset you, Miss Celena."

"She's not upset, Aelia," Allen said calmly. "Because no one's going to make her do anything she doesn't want to do. You know that, don't you, Celena?"

"You make me eat those horrible green vegetables that look like little heads."

"You know what I mean, Celena."

She did but pretending she didn't was more fun. And she did hate those vegetables. They were pasty and bland and creepy, because they did look like little heads if she squinted and used her imagination. They were hard to hide in her napkin so she could throw them away later too.

"I love those things," Gaddes said, breaking the tension and earning a weird look from Celena. "If you don't want 'em, I'll take 'em."

"Will you go to tea parties for me too?"

"I can't help you there. I don't have anything proper to wear."

Celena offered to buy him new clothes. Gaddes refused, on account that he wasn't sure if he'd want to wear an outfit she'd pick out. She had such bad taste in food, after all. What if that translated into fashion?

Celena's distress was soon a distant memory as she thoroughly questioned Gaddes on his taste in food and everyone else got to work on unloading the carriages.

Revius hadn't been kidding about the length of time it had taken for his parents to rent the villa. The cloths that had been placed over the furniture were thick with dust. Allen pulled one off before Aelia could stop him and accidentally sent up a plume of dust that set everyone to coughing.

"There's a trick to these things," Aelia said brightly between wheezes for breath. She wasn't about to share that trick with anyone as it wouldn't be proper to have her employers do the dirty task. She'd sooner die than ask Eries. Gaddes would have been fair game to be a helper but he was busy with the trunks. Couldn't have nobles or a princess help with that either.

Allen helped anyway, though he stuck by the princess exclusion. Once the trunks were in the now slightly less dusty villa, he was happy to let Eries unpack them. She tackled Celena's trunk first, knowing if it was left up to the girl, she would store her clothes as messily as she had packed them. The task took longer than she expected. Celena popped into her room long enough to look around and make a half-hearted offer to help with her own cloths. She popped back out of her room as soon as Eries turned her down. Celena had done enough already. The girl had managed to jam most of the contents of her closet into the trunk. Her room in the villa didn't offer as much storage space, forcing Eries to do some stuffing of her own. All the while, she was taking a mental inventory of all the clothes to give to Aelia so the poor maid could prepare for the marathon session of ironing she was in for.

By the time she emerged from Celena's room, it was late afternoon. Allen and Aelia were in the villa's kitchen, carefully unpacking the Schezar family fine china. Gaddes was keeping Celena busy so she couldn't help.

Aelia, unaware of the amount of work Celena had created for her, was feeling cheerful about the brief move. "They were starting on the kitchen soon anyway. Now I won't be underfoot and all these things will be out of harm's way. Not that I don't trust your men to be careful, Master Allen, but accidents can happen."

Gaddes snickered from the next room where he and Celena were playing cards. "Yeah, accidents. Like when Ort 'accidentally' walked away from the bar he used to work at with half the silverware."

"Surely, he didn't!" Aelia said with alarm. Allen's men from the Crusade were a rough around the edges, but they had been unfailingly polite to her since taking up temporary jobs in the remodeling crew. There couldn't be a thief among them.

"That's all well in the past, Aelia," Allen explained. "Whatever my men had done before they came to Fort Castelo pales when compared to what they have done since."

Celena smiled at Gaddes over her hand of cards. "So what did you do?"

"I think your brother just said what upstanding men he had serving under him now."

"But he also implied you weren't so upstanding before."

"All right, if you have to know, I used to fleece pesky young girls out of all their money playing cards." As luck would have it, Gaddes then drew the card he needed to complete his hand. He plunked it down card by card for Celena to see. "Old habits die hard, I guess."

"So? I don't have any money," Celena said to show how little it mattered that she had lost.

"And I don't think your brother's going to give you any when you're playing like that."

"Miss Celena does not gamble," Aelia said sternly. That was true in the technical sense, but Celena promptly demanding another game from Gaddes sort of undermined the statement.

Aelia went in to the pantry muttering to herself about thieves and gambling. Gaddes offered to apologize; Allen told him he would take care of it. Celena and her exposure to unseemly elements was his responsibility. It was also his responsibility to make sure joking around didn't go too far and upset the most important member of his household staff.

"She's too sensitive," Celena groused.

Eries was inclined to agree but Allen defended her. "She just has this idealized version of the two of us in her head and she doesn't want anything to contradict that."

"She has no idea what you did after you ran away from home, does she?" Eries whispered to him.

"No," he whispered back. "Other than you and Hitomi, no one does. I'd rather Celena never find out about it either."

"Are you two talking about me?" Celena asked. She hadn't been able to hear a word Allen and Eries had said, yet some sixth sense let her pick out her name. Like most people, being spoken about in hushed voices made her very curious.

Allen told her no. She believed him for approximately one second before demanding to know what they were saying about her. Eries might have found Celena's paranoia more amusing if she hadn't been a victim of so much of it herself lately. She only wished her problem was worrying what a sibling was saying about her.

This reminded her too late of one of things that had caused her anxieties to flare up – the ball. Set to start at dusk, Eries had plenty of time to get there if she thought it was a good idea to make a formal entrance in front of all the leaders of Gaea wearing a plain dress decorated with dust and pieces of string off of Celena's clothes. She'd rather be wearing the dress with the hump on it.

She could be late or show up looking like a dust bunny. Tardiness was the better of the two options but she really did not want to give Meiden the satisfaction of seeing her try to explain to everyone and their brother why she was late.

"Is something wrong?" Allen asked.

"The ball tonight…"

"Isn't that supposed to start soon?" Realizing his second question was the answer to his first, Allen apologized. "I'm sorry; I shouldn't have kept you here so long. I wasn't going to go because my leave isn't officially up until tomorrow morning but you don't exactly have that choice."

"You didn't keep me here, Allen, but I do have to leave now. I need to get cleaned up. I need to find something to wear."

"There's a bath right off my bedroom," Celena said as this was the most obvious thing in the world and Eries was silly for having missed it. "And you and I are around the same size, except you're a lot bigger, you know, 'up top', so you could wear one of my fancy dresses. I know I don't want to."

It was an obvious solution. That was why Eries felt self-conscious. It wasn't at all because Celena had referenced her chest size in front of two men who were doing their damnedest to avoid looking anywhere remotely in the vicinity of her 'up top'. It was a good thing Aelia was still stocking the pantry.

"Yes, of course, one of your dresses." Eries was slow to recover. It'd be easier once she was alone. "I think I remember a few that would do. I'll just go to your room and check."

Since it was her suggestion, Celena thought she should join Eries. Gaddes was creaming her at cards anyway. She took off after Eries, having to skip a bit to catch up because the princess seemed determined to make the trip from kitchen to bedroom in record speed.

Celena completely missed the point of why Eries was so rushed. "I knew you were in a hurry but you don't have to run!"

Eries wasn't keen on educating her. That would involve a lecture on what subjects are not suitable for discussion among mixed company and she didn't have the time. Knowing Celena, she'd just see it as an opportunity to make Eries spell out those the subjects in detail so she could giggle at her as she fumbled around the more delicate terms. Better just to let it drop.

"You don't have to stop playing cards on my behalf, Celena."

"This'll be more fun than losing to Gaddes again. I know the dress you should wear too. It should have been at the bottom of the trunk."

"Then it should be in the closet right next to you." Having gone through the entire wardrobe Celena had brought with her, Eries tried to guess which dress Celena had in mind. Whichever one it was, it was bound to be a crinkled mess but Celena seldom showed any interest in 'feminine' things so Eries indulged her desire to play dress up.

Celena pulled a garment bag from the closet. "This is it!"

Eries hadn't opened the bag herself so she had no idea what Celena was so excited about. At least the dress had been protected and was probably still in good shape.

"What do you think?" Celena removed the garment bag with a flourish. She was really getting into this. "It used to belong to my mother."

Celena's young age at the time of her abduction meant that she didn't have too many solid memories of Encia Schezar. Allen had tried to fill in the gaps, telling her all about their mother's favorite things, her warmth and compassion and the certain smile she reserved for only her children. He must have left out discussing her taste in clothing. Encia had been only slightly less conservative than Eries, meaning she liked her necklines high and her hemlines low. Heavy fabric in muted tones was a plus too.

The dress Celena was holding would not be described in that manner. The top half was shoulder-less and designed to wrap closely around the body. It gave it a resemblance to a bustier, an image only reinforced when Celena twirled the dress around to show off the silk laces running all the way up the back that would enable the wearer to make it fit as tight as possible. It was made of lustrous velvet dyed to a deep sapphire blue. That gave it a small edge over the bottom of the dress, which was made of layers of a gauzy, almost see-through fabric that fluttered elegantly as Celena spun the dress around again.

"See how the skirt moves? It's made for dancing."

"Your mother wore that dress?" Eries asked in disbelief.

"I told you it belonged to her. I think she got it because the blue would have matched Father's eyes and they would have looked really good dancing together." She added mischievously, "Or you would look good dancing with Allen."

"Allen's not going tonight," Eries said and felt surprisingly disappointed about that. Celena was right. She would look good in that dress. They would look good together.

Something in her expression must have made Celena think Eries was going to say yes to wearing the dress because she declared she knew exactly which one of Encia's necklaces went best with it. "I hope Aelia packed that stuff. I know how weird she is with the family heirlooms so she probably wouldn't leave them where she couldn't watch over them. I'll go ask her!"

"No, Celena! I didn't–" She stopped because Celena had already shoved the dress into Eries' hands and bolted out the door. She wouldn't have listened regardless. The idea was in her head and it wasn't going to be shaken out without the use of force.

Taking a closer look at the dress, Eries could see that it was well-made. The velvet was petal soft under her fingertips. She couldn't place what material the bottom part was made from. She guessed it was imported and very expensive. It was the kind of gown Marlene or Millerna would have adored but Eries shunned because of the attention it would get her.

It wouldn't be the most provocative thing she ever wore. That honor fell to an outfit buried deep in a trunk stuffed into the back of her closet. That outfit was a flimsy purple thing Allen had conned her into wearing during a holiday in Egzardia. She still couldn't believe she had put the thing on, let alone walked around in it in public. She occasionally checked the trunk to make sure it was there and that she hadn't just dreamed the whole thing. The dress in her hands was a priest's robe in comparison.

So she would get attention at tonight's ball – making her presence known and maybe capturing the eye of a delegate or two would be a good thing. It would give Meiden Fassa a heart attack.

_That seals it_, she thought as she went into the bath to wash up and change. She wished the mirror in the bath was larger. All she could see in it were bare shoulders and a sliver of velvet. The dress felt a little loose; she'd have to get Celena to adjust the laces.

She poked her head out the bedroom door and called for her. Celena was bounding down the hall a second later with a box in hand.

"I told Aelia would bring these along. I was right about the dress too." She gave the box to Eries, an expectant smile wide across her face.

"Thank you, Celena. You've been very helpful." _Very, very helpful. _The necklace Eries took from the box was of the same caliber of her own royal jewels, possibly higher since Eries seldom wore anything with as many sapphires and diamonds as this necklace had.

"Allen said our grandmother got it as a wedding gift and then she gave it to our mother when she married Father. So it's kind of a tradition."

Eries puzzled over why Celena thought her wearing the necklace would fit into the tradition, but she was off on another topic before Eries could ask.

"You should wear the matching earrings. And put your hair up. It'll show off the earrings and when you're dancing, it'll make the skirt more noticeable too."

Eries didn't know when Celena had taken an interest in ball fashion. That had to be a recent development. She had learned fast though. Back in the bath, Eries worked with her hair while Celena clasped the necklace around her neck and tightened up the laces of the dress. After borrowing some hair clips to keep everything in place and giving Celena her earcuffs for safe keeping, Eries put the earrings on. If the rest of her looked as good as her head and shoulders, Meiden Fassa's heart attack might be lethal.

"I wish I was going to this thing instead of being stuck at home with Gaddes and Aelia," Celena sighed. "Everybody's going to be so jealous of you."

"I doubt that," Eries said with humility she didn't really feel at the moment. So self-absorbed, she almost missed part of what Celena had said. "Wait, why isn't Allen going to be here?"

"I guess I forgot to tell you." Her grin said that she hadn't forgotten at all, but was waiting for the right moment to spring it on Eries. "I got you an escort for the evening too."

Her escort was dressed in full Caeli uniform and chatting with Gaddes and Aelia when Eries made her entrance into the main room. Eries let her ego inflate a little further by imaging her entrance into the ball would have similar results. Everyone stopped chatting, though Gaddes emitted a quiet 'damn!' in appreciation. Aelia didn't even tell him to mind his language around Celena.

Allen offered his own compliments as he draped one of Celena's cloaks over her shoulders to keep her warm during the walk to the palace. He embraced his escort role completely, bowing before her and formally requesting her hand so that he could guide her across the five feet from where they were standing to the door. Eries played along. Who knew what dangers she might face that would require an escort? The movements of her dress might rile up an angry dust bunny or two.

Outside, there were the dangers of the occasional loose stone in the street and shallow canals so Allen couldn't release her arm from his grip. It wouldn't have been chivalrous. The only break he took from the routine was to confess that he thought Celena had been wrong about Eries deciding to wear the dress. "Your goal at these things has always been to keep attention away from you. I didn't expect you to pick out the one dress that would make sure every man and woman in the room wouldn't be able to take their eyes off of you."

She let herself blush at the compliment before going back to her usual, practical self. "I think they'll be able to avert their eyes. The dress is…_attractive_…but whatever Sita wears will probably put it to shame. Or would it be the other way around?"

"It's certainly not your usual attire."

"It's not that bad!" Eries insisted. In her head, it came out as _I'm not that bland!_ "Your mother wore this dress, after all."

"My mother never wore that dress," Allen said automatically.

Eries chalked up the response to Allen's wonderful talent for denial. Of course he wouldn't want to picture his beloved mother dressed in something definitely non-maternal. "You were probably too young to attend the parties she would have worn it to."

"No, she-" He stopped, debating whether to press the point or to let Eries think she was right. Her absolute surety was making him feel contrary so he went against his better judgment. "I know for a fact that my mother never wore that dress."

"Celena said she wore it." Actually, as Eries remembered now, Celena had only said the dress belonged to her mother. She'd never said anything more than that, even when Eries had questioned her directly. Eries suddenly felt Allen's explanation as to why he was so sure Encia had never worn the dress would be superfluous…and potentially embarrassing.

"I know my mother never wore that dress because I remember when my grandmother gave it to her. She said she'd never wear it because it looked like one of my grandmother's old costumes."

"This would be your maternal grandmother, Livia Denault?" Eries asked slowly. She also remembered the woman's stage name – Lili deCrane – and the kind of stage she had performed on. "Your mother was just joking about the dress, wasn't she?" _Please tell me she was joking. You had better tell me she was joking._

Allen picked up on Eries' silent demands and regretted his choice to tease her. Deeply regretted. In trouble, he stammered out an answer that was as vague as Celena's had been. "No, my mother didn't really think it was an old costume."

"And what did your grandmother tell her?" Eries didn't want to hear the truth but if she knew it now she could turn around and change. That would be better than spending the entire evening with the thought hanging in her head, taunting her.

Allen couldn't lie to her, no matter how much he wanted to. He could, however, dress up the truth. "It's not a costume. She did wear it for the opening of her final performance in Egzardia, but it wasn't a costume for the show. And that performance was in front of the Egzardian royal family, mind you."

"I'm wearing a burlesque costume," Eries concluded matter-of-factly.

"It's not a costume. It was worn to present the show, not during the show."

"It'll be a wonderful conversation piece," Eries continued over Allen's sad attempt to mollify her. "Do you like my dress, Marqesita? Your family once watched a woman perform in a burlesque show wearing it. Maybe your dying father saw it."

"It's not a costume. She didn't perform anything it."

"This is wonderful. For once, I decide to put aside all the primness and properness and I end up in a burlesque costume."

"It is not a costume!"

In all the years she had known him, Eries had never heard Allen raise his voice to woman. She thought he must have something important to say if he was doing it now. She listened.

"It's not a costume," he repeated one more time. "It's a dress. No one knows where it came from or who wore it. Celena was a baby when my grandmother gave it to my mother. The only thing she knew about it was that it's a beautiful dress. I'm sorry I said anything to make you think otherwise. I'm sorry because it upset you. And I'm sorry because you never let anyone see how magnificent you truly are and you deserve to have the chance to make everyone at that ball know it."

It took a few seconds of blank staring before she fully comprehended what Allen had said. As his words settled in, Eries responded by letting herself be pulled along towards the palace.

Finally, she spoke. "So it's not a costume…"

o-o-o-o-o

By the time they reached the palace, Eries had regained the composure she had lost following Allen's outburst. It was a good thing it was back in place or else she might have taken all the stares and whispered questions of 'Is that who I think it is?' the palace guards gave the wrong way and gotten self-conscious. If that had happened, she might have rethought her choice of clothing. Then she would have missed the sight of Meiden's eyes widening and his jaw falling open as if someone had punched him in the stomach. Or a lower, more sensitive location. He had been chatting up the Cesarian delegation when Eries' arrival had been announced. A minute had passed since the page finished saying her name and his conversation had yet to resume.

There wasn't much talking around Eries in general. Allen was only smiling and nodding in the direction of appreciative onlookers. He didn't need words; Eries recognized an 'I told you so' when she heard one.

The ball being a political affair, Eries was obligated to greet her guests before seeking out family and friends. She talked with the Egzardians first, making sure to keep Allen between her and Tellot as Marqesita alternated between complimenting her and complaining that she hadn't expected to have any competition at the ball. Bennor, in his charming mode for tonight's affair, also complimented her and apologized for his brother's rudeness. Whatever rudeness that might have been, Eries didn't know. Allen had been an effective shield from it and he wouldn't repeat an insult to a lady at knifepoint. She guessed it was something crude that Tellot had intended as a compliment of his own but he had forgotten his target audience.

Meiden, his speech restored with a vengeance, nevertheless drifted away as she and Allen approached the Cesarians. The paranoia that she swore she wouldn't let get to her took note of which men the merchant had been talking to the most. One of the Cesarians confirmed the mildest of her suspicions by stating this was his first time in Asturia and he was thankful that they had decided that they would host the ball at the last minute. "They're famous throughout Gaea and even this early into the evening, a can tell why. To miss this would be like coming to Asturia and not eating the seafood!" he laughed.

Eries wasn't a fan of that part of Asturian cuisine either but laughed along anyway. "That's good to hear. Be prepared for much fine food and dancing tonight."

"I think I'll be partaking of the former much more than the latter. If I may be so bold though, Princess, I would enjoy sharing a dance with you later."

Behind her, she heard Allen breathe sharply and wondered if he thought the Cesarian was being too bold. She realized she was wrong when she heard a young voice calling for his Aunt Eries.

The Cesarians deferred to Chid and went to mingle with the Asturian noblewomen who had turned out in force. Allen moved as if to follow them, but Eries told him to stay. Both Kaja and Nuri were with her nephew and Nuri was watching Allen with an odd intensity. Eries' instincts told her to keep Allen from doing anything even slightly suspicious. A Knight Caeli would stand and welcome Chid with his Princess, not slink off.

"Aunt Eries, you look so pretty! But you're not wearing your earcuffs. I don't think I've ever seen you without them."

"And I don't think I've ever seen you look so handsome."

Chid blushed. Being mature for his age still left him young enough to be embarrassed by an overly proud aunt. Kaja covered for his liege by stating how much they'd been enjoying their stay here.

"I don't remember seeing you when we first arrived," Nuri said to Allen out of nowhere.

"He's Allen Schezar, a famous Knight Caeli," Chid explained before anyone else could. It would have been better if someone else had made the introduction, especially after Chid added that his mother had told him all about Allen.

"Did she?" Nuri asked.

"I served as Princess Marlene's guard before she went to Freid. She probably wanted to impress Duke Chid with tales of Asturian knights and my name was the one with which she was most familiar."

Eries thought it was a nice cover on Allen's part. Chid seemed to take it with disappointment while Nuri remained curious. "You must have impressed her majesty a great deal to have her make you the subject of her tales."

"From what Duke Chid told me of those stories, they were more fairy tales than anything. I'd be flattered if her majesty had held me in such high regard, but I wouldn't presume to claim to be the invincible knight of the stories. There were times during the conflict with Zaibach when I wouldn't have minded being him though."

Allen's casual delivery got Nuri to relent a little. "Wouldn't we all like to be invincible?" he said, following it with a standard hollow politician laugh that Eries knew well from all times she used it herself.

"But even though Allen was injured when he came to Freid, he still helped us fight against Zaibach," Chid chimed in.

Eries often marveled at how bright and articulate her nephew was. That didn't change the fact he was just a child and that a great deal of adult knowledge existed beyond his grasp. This included, as he was making painfully obvious, the ability to pick up on unspoken tensions.

Allen downplayed the compliment as much as he could. "I'd give more credit to Hitomi and Van."

Kaja, who was very keen on detecting unspoken tensions, used the mention of the two to change to the subject. "We had a wonderful afternoon with King Fanel yesterday. He was telling us how he can use the pendant the lady Kanzaki left behind to actually see what she's doing on the Mystic Moon."

"Is that so?" Allen asked and soon Nuri's inquisition was shoved to the side as Chid excitedly repeated everything Van Fanel had told them.

Eries was curious to hear more as she couldn't fathom how such a thing was possible but the reality of Nuri en Freid took precedence over the fantastical tales of a Mystic Moon girl. She left Allen, Kaja and Chid to their conversation and began one with Nuri.

"You never met my sister did you? That's unfortunate. She was such a loving person. I know that's why Mahad was so devoted to her."

"Mahad and I were not close," Nuri answered, "So no, I was not able to have the honor of meeting your sister. We were distant cousins in both blood and the direction of our lives."

"So you were never involved in politics before?"

"I studied to be a monk. The throne was not my path. Mahad was young; he already had an heir…"

"He still has an heir," Eries said pointedly.

Nuri surprised her by dispensing with any political doublespeak. "His heir is a child. His advisors are not so far out of childhood themselves. And I mean no offense to your country, Princess, only pride in my own homeland when I say Chid is too Asturian. I do not doubt his loyalty to Freid and its traditions but at the same time, I have no doubts he feels a similar loyalty to Asturia."

"And you don't believe he can serve both?"

"Tell me, Princess, whose interest was Asturia serving when you collaborated with Zaibach in the invasion of Freid?"

Her own loyalties told Eries to make some argument on her country's behalf but she knew anything she said would just be excuses. Nuri didn't want to hear them, she didn't want to say them and her father, judging from his outburst yesterday morning, didn't believe in them. Being 'just a princess', she wasn't really at liberty to say what she was about to say, but said it anyway. "That was a horrible mistake made out of fear for our own safety. If we could make the decision again, we would act differently. But we can't so we will continue to do all we can do to help you rebuild."

"And that's _your_ motivation for the aide you've given us?"

Nuri clearly didn't mean the royal 'your'. He wanted to know what only Eries believed. 'Only Eries' did believe that's why Asturia should be helping Freid but 'Royal Eries' knew there were other motivations. Meiden had outlined them to her clear as day. In the face of Nuri's question, Eries renewed her disgust with the merchant.

"You don't need to answer me, Princess. I only wanted to make it clear to you that I will act in what I believe are my country's best interests. I expect, and rather hope, you will do the same."

Eries didn't know what to make of that. Chid had resumed talking about Allen's exploits in Freid to Allen's discomfort, so she took it as a sign to excuse herself so she could meet with other delegates.

"How was your talk with him?" Allen asked her after thanking her for extricating him.

Eries searched for a word to best describe it. "Awkward," she concluded.

"I know exactly what you mean."

0-0-0-0-0

After dealing with Chid and Nuri, greeting the rest of the delegates was a breeze. The general mood of the ballroom was light and the most anyone else wanted out of Eries was to be added to her dance card. Even with her good memory for names and faces, Eries was having a hard time keeping track of everyone she owed a dance to. Her sense of planning wasn't helping her figure out how to fit them all in before the night was over either.

The only two men who weren't on her list were Nuri en Freid (Eries assumed he wouldn't be up for dancing tonight – or any other night for that matter) and Van Fanel. The king was more interested in scheduling a sparring match with Allen while Eries smiled politely at Merle and Merle tried not to snicker at Eries' unusual attire. Eries thought the catgirl would have hurt something laughing if she had seen her in the hump dress.

When she and Allen finally drifted over to Alucier and Revius, Eries expected both of them to follow Merle's lead. Alucier took the path of gallantry instead, telling her she looked lovely and extracting yet another promise for a dance from her. Revius stared at her chest.

"My face is up here, Revius."

"I've already seen your face."

Revius then started seeing a lot of blond hair as Allen stepped in front of her.

"Oh sure, hog the view, Schezar!"

"I think I'm all caught up with Revius," Allen said, "but how are things with you, Alucier? Have you talked with Lord Ramkin lately?"

"This afternoon. It was a short meeting – short because he was so busy talking to Fortanen about all the planning he's doing for the surprise tournament."

This was news enough to distract Revius from his ogling attempts. "That's just great. Fortanen doesn't have any assignment beyond guard duty while he's in town so he can earn points doing some stupid tournament while you work your butt off with this summit."

"I think Lord Ramkin will be able to distinguish which is the more important service," Allen argued.

Alucier wasn't so optimistic. "Lord Ramkin can, but he's not the one who gets to say who his successor will be. He can make his recommendation to the king but that's it."

"Hmm, if only you had some sort of inside line to the king. If only you were friends with one of his daughters or something…"

"Unfortunately," Eries interrupted, "For the foreseeable future, the king's decisions are being made by the council. While I am a member of that council, I'll be too involved with the summit to do much campaigning on Alucier's behalf. And the councilmen who will have the time to discuss it are more impressed by showy displays like a tournament than quiet displays of competence."

Neither Allen nor Alucier had anything to counter Eries' depressing dose of realism. Revius, as always, was game. "Maybe somebody will try to assassinate somebody and you could stop it. That would be _real_ showy."

"Yeah, Rev. I let an assassin into the summit. That would look real good for me."

"Nah, everybody would be so wrapped up in you being a hero, they wouldn't care about that detail. Now, if you let the guy die, you're dead meat. But you're not going to let him die, are you?"

Alucier's hypothetical heroics in thwarting a hypothetical assassin were too much for Eries and she had a lot of dances to dance. At any other ball, she would have used whatever excuse she could come up with to avoid them, including sticking around to hear the rest of Revius' bizarre scenarios. Tonight though, with the more than warm reception she had received, she felt as if she would enjoy herself. She knew the first dance would be nice; it would only good manners for her to dance with the man who had escorted her here before taking another partner.

She and Allen went to the center of the ballroom. Behind them, Revius was on a roll. "No, no. The assassin was a Doppleganger. You picked him out because you remembered Delegated So-and-So was left handed…"

0-0-0-0-0

Eries did enjoy the first dance as she predicted. She was also right about enjoying the dances that came after. Of course, the second one was a given. Alucier, tired of hearing his imaginary exploits, escaped Revius by cutting in on the first familiar couple he could find. Eries wasn't bothered by the intrusion. Marqesita felt otherwise. Disappointed to have arrived on the dance floor a moment too late, she snatched up the idle Allen before any else could.

It was amusing to watch the two. Allen clearly wasn't used to dancing with a woman who insisted on leading.

They found more compatible partners the next time around. Alucier didn't have a problem with being led and neither did the young noblewoman who gladly took Allen off of Marqesita's arm.

This left Eries free to start fulfilling her list of promises. She started with the Cesarian – because he had been the first to make a request and because Meiden had gravitated back towards that delegation after initially being shooed away. He hung around this time, making sure to give his opinion on Eries' unusual-for-her appearance.

"My dear Princess, I had worried that the short notice you were regrettably given about tonight's ball wouldn't be enough time for you to prepare, but here you are, making quite a display."

He intended it as a dig, but that facet of the comment flew over the head of the Cesarian. "You do look lovely this evening, Princess," he said. "Forgive me for not paying my proper respect earlier."

"Then let me take your apology in the form of a dance," Eries replied smoothly. She didn't know where this part of her was coming from but it was annoying Meiden so she decided she liked it.

"We can talk later," Meiden said to the air. The Cesarian was already half-way to the dance floor with Eries.

After the Cesarian came a Basramian, then another Cesarian. Eries even indulged Tellot in a dance. He turned out to be a gentlemanly partner. Marqesita had made some very specific threats if he did anything stupid and Tellot had just enough savvy to know leering at his sister's friend fell into the stupid category. Eries didn't find out about the threats until after the fact so she walked away after the song was through puzzled and pleasantly surprised. She was downright shocked when Nuri en Freid defied all expectations by asking if he might be next.

He hardly spoke at all to her during the dance. What he did say was the mild small talk Eries was used to hearing at these events. He didn't go near their previous conversation and Eries didn't try to steer him there. Eventually, she was going to have to figure this man out, but tonight was not the time to do it.

She went back into rotation among the various delegates after she and Nuri were done. Had she been the type to keep track of this sort of thing, Eries would have noticed for the first time since Millerna turned thirteen that she had actually accrued more dance partners than her sister. Millerna did edge her and all other women out on one front: she persuaded Van Fanel to partake in a dance. His participation consisted of standing in proximity to Millerna as she moved through the steps but it counted. Millerna wasn't going to push it. Getting him to do that much had been an effort.

"I'm sure if Hitomi had been here, he would have been more than happy to dance," Millerna told Eries when the sisters finally caught up to each other near the end of the ball.

"Finding the right partner can make a world of difference."

"Or finding the right dress." Millerna gave her sister a thorough look over. "When you first came in, I could hardly believe it was you. It's a gorgeous dress, but it's not what you usually wear."

"So I've been told."

"What inspired you to wear it?"

Millerna tried to pass the question off as natural curiosity but there was catch in her voice that suggested she was not making casual conversation. Eries had already had her one serious conversation for the night so she decided to let it go and gave her the short version of where the dress came from. The short version did not include any mention of Allen's grandmother or burlesque shows.

"I noticed you came in with Allen," Millerna said, the catch still there. "You shared the first dance too."

Eries was unsure ground. Something was bothering Millerna. Allen was obviously at the center of it but Eries didn't think jealously was the cause. There was nothing to be jealous of for starters. Millerna knew Eries and Allen were friends, had known it since the end of the war and hadn't expressed any objection to the amount of time they spent together. But then Eries never really brought the subject up and she'd never thrown it in her sister's face by showing up at a ball in a semi-revealing dress with Allen as her escort.

"The orchestra still has a few songs left in them. Maybe you could ask him for the last dance?" Eries suggested. She was overcompensating and she knew it but cheerfully avoiding the underlying problem seemed like the right thing to do in a room full of delegates who didn't know how nasty the Aston sisters could be with each other and didn't need to learn.

"I don't think that would be a very good idea. It's not that I…" Once Millerna stopped, she had problems getting started again. "It's just you…Forget it. I'm just tired from all the dancing. It's been a lovely night but I should get to bed. Goodnight, Sister."

Eries asked her to wait. She didn't know what she was going to say but didn't want to leave things at Millerna's cryptic comment. That was all she was going to get though. Millerna wasn't coming back.

"Goodnight, sister…"

0-0-0-0-0

Millerna's abrupt departure forced Eries into circulation again to thank all the remaining delegates for attending and to bid them goodnight with more warmth than her sister had used to tell her the same. It didn't take long as most everyone had retired earlier. A few diehards lingered, but they were mostly Asturians who knew how to pace themselves to last all the way through these things. Eries skipped over the sole Egzardian in attendance; Marqesita wouldn't have liked to have her last dance interrupted. Alucier didn't look like he would have appreciated it either.

Eventually the orchestra decided they needed a bigger audience than two princesses, two Caeli and the cleaning staff to keep playing. The maestro waited until Eries asked them to stop but the increasing number of missed notes and slackening pace weren't subtle.

"If you people are going to kick me out of your party," Marqesita announced, "you better have the decency to give me a valiant guard to see me safely home."

Alucier handled the request with his usual aplomb. "Okay. Allen, you escort Princess Marqesita to her quarters and I'll make sure Eries gets back to hers."

Marqesita showed him how amusing she thought he was being by grabbing him by the cravat and dragging him out of the ballroom.

"Of the two, I'm more worried about Alucier," Allen said.

That should have been a joke, but considering the source and the subject matter, Eries had to agree with it. "They'll behave," she said unconvincingly.

Allen tried to be persuasive too. "It was a good idea for her to have an escort at this late hour with all the political tension in the air."

"You don't know the half of it."

Eries informed him about that half on the walk back to her own quarters. There was a lot to explain. In telling all the juicy details to Allen, Eries had to reexamine them. With the summit starting tomorrow, Eries appreciated the sounding board Allen was providing to confirm or deny her suspicions. She hadn't even gotten to the part about Meiden and the Cesarians by the time they reached her bedroom door so she asked Allen if he'd mind continuing the mostly one-sided conversation. Allen never was one for saying 'no' to a woman.

He did suggest they go to the roof to finish their talk. He'd gleaned enough from what Eries had told him that just the hint of impropriety would be a bad thing.

It had grown a little chillier since sunset but it was nothing Celena's cloak couldn't take care of once Eries put it back on. After spending the evening as the outgoing princess she had never been, it felt odd to be covered up again.

"Is something wrong with the cloak?" Allen asked when he noticed her fussing with it.

"No, it's fine. I was just thinking about this evening. Despite everything, I did enjoy it."

"Even that dance with Nuri en Freid?"

"Even that. He didn't mention politics once then."

"What did he mention before?"

Allen seemed to Eries as curious about Nuri as Nuri had been about him. He had a right to be. Nuri's comment about Chid being 'too Asturian' and his interest in the stories Marlene had told Chid about Allen implied he was close to Allen's secret. A full discovery of that secret by a man who could and wanted to make a claim to Freid's leadership would be devastating to Chid – assuming Nuri would make use of the information in that manner. Eries wasn't entirely sure that assumption would be right. The people of Freid were devoted to their young duke and enamored of their former duchess. They might not like hearing the truth.

"He's concerned about Chid's age, but then, who isn't?" This was one of those times when Eries didn't consider a lie of omission an actual lie.

"His had so many responsibilities…and I can't help him with any of them."

"Allen…" Eries had gotten so used to Allen's new attitude, the return of the old moodiness caught her off-guard. Not for long though, not with her experience. "I know it must be hard for you to see him, especially when he expresses that hero worship–"

"He had such high expectations for me when I arrived in Freid and even though I failed to live up to any of them, he still trusted me," Allen interrupted. "He still looks up to me. He expects me to be something I desperately want to be to him, but can't. I wish Marlene had never told him those stories."

For Allen to be criticizing Marlene, he had to be upset. Eries theorizing that Chid was casting about for a father figure after Mahad's death wasn't going to calm him down either. Vague optimism seemed to be the best course. "It's not a bad thing for a child to have a role model and children are prone to idealism." She was about to add that children eventually grew out of that stage but the implication that one day, Chid would no longer look up to Allen was hardly the reassurance she was going for.

"It's not his fault. He's lost so much, I can see why he'd want to hold on to something familiar," Allen sighed. "I'm his father. I want to be there for him. But I can't be there for him because I am his father."

"And I once questioned why you hated irony so much." It sounded flippant out loud and Eries apologized.

"No, I should apologize to you. You enjoyed tonight and I'm ruining it by running to you with all my problems. I thought I had moved past that."

"You're not ruining anything. And we'll never be past sharing our problems with each other. That's what friends do. You listened to me complain about Meiden."

"You were just venting. You didn't expect me to be able to fix everything."

"Is that what you expected of me in the past?"

Allen looked away, unable to face her as he slowly told her 'yes'. "That's what you did, whether you knew it or not. When Balgus first brought me back to Palas, I didn't think I had a reason to stay and then you gave me one. If you hadn't helped me settle my family's estate, Celena wouldn't have had a place to return to. When Marlene left, when Chid was born, when Marlene died…if you hadn't been there to lean on, who knows how far I would have fallen. You had to have known how much I depended on you or else you wouldn't have gotten sick of it."

"We've been through this Allen."

"I know. And I was wrong when I said I leaned on you. I held on to you for dear life back then. There's a difference between needing support and letting someone carry you entirely."

"I'll always be here to help you, with Celena, with Chid, with whatever else life sees fit to throw at you. Though honestly, at this point, I would think life's arm would be getting tired."

Allen laughed. It was little more than a quick exhalation of breath, but it was still a laugh. "There you go. You just fixed something."

"Forgive me," Eries laughed back.

"I think we should end this evening the way we began it," Allen said suddenly.

"Moving trunks around?"

"I meant the ball." He slipped the cloak off of Eries' shoulders before she could protest. "Don't worry about the chill, you'll be dancing."

"There's no music."

"Pretend."

"You're being very odd," Eries said, but she did as commanded. After years of dancing together at balls, she and Allen were able to find their rhythm after only a few steps. The music really wasn't necessary.

"Do you remember the last time we danced on the roof like this?" Allen asked.

"Of course I do. We were talking about it earlier. It was my birthday, when you gave me the earcuffs." _Which I'm not wearing right now, _Eries thought. At this moment, it felt wrong that she was without them. "I hope you don't mind that I traded them in for these earrings. When Celena gave me the jewelry-"

"I told her to take the earrings too. They're actually another Micha Revius creation. My mother had them designed to match the necklace."

Eries felt better for knowing that, as if there should be a symmetry between the two nights. To further complete the image, Eries remembered the final song that had played that night.

Allen had but one misstep before settling into Eries' new tempo. "I take it the music's slower now."

"It's traditional for the last dance to be slow. And much as I wish this could last longer, I do have the summit tomorrow."

"And I have to report to Lord Ramkin first thing. All good things must come to end, I suppose. This was a good night. So was-"

"The night of my birthday," Eries finished for him.

"Hmm," Allen muttered and looked away.

"What is it?"

"I was just thinking about that night – thinking about something I was thinking about that night."

"You're being odd again."

"I'd explain," he said, "but you'd think I was horrible."

Now she was intrigued. "Unless you were plotting to throw me off the roof, I want to hear this."

Allen struggled between laughing at himself and being serious with Eries. "After everything that's happened… No, you'd wonder what was wrong with me."

"As if I don't do that on a daily basis."

Being serious with Eries won the battle but it was slow to make its victory speech. Just when Eries thought Allen was intent on ending the night with a staring contest, he confessed. "Did you ever think that – maybe – we could have possibly been more than friends?"

If they had had a staring contest, Eries would have won it – easily. She hardly even breathed as Allen stumbled though the rest of his confession. "I know how bad that must sound to you. You were so angry with me for letting Millerna think there could be something between us and you were right to be angry. But this was before Marlene died. It was different. She was happy in Freid and I was beginning to accept that. I was beginning to think I could be happy again too. I had just gotten back from my melef training in Basram and it felt so good not just to be back in Asturia, but to be back with you. And I kept thinking of all the things you had done for me, all the things we'd been through, and then I thought, maybe…. You think I was being stupid then, don't you?"

"I think we're both idiots," Eries gasped, finally breaking her silence.

"We're both idiots? Does that mean you thought about it too?"

She didn't know how to answer him. She felt a swell of anger and went with that before she could stop herself. "Why are you telling me this now? After years of friendship, why would you bring something like that up? Just reminiscing? What is it?"

Allen was at a loss for answers. "Why are you reacting like this?"

Seeing his confusion, Eries knew she'd said too much. Her questions had been answers. Worse, they had been answers that raised questions trickier than the ones she'd been trying to avoid. "I'm sorry. It's been a long day and tomorrow's going to be longer still…I'm just tired and you caught me off guard. That's all."

"No, that's not all. I thought at worse you'd say something sarcastic and laugh at me. You're genuinely angry with me."

"Why would I be angry with you?"

"I don't know. Most women would take a man saying he once had a romantic interest in them as a compliment. I don't see why you would be angry unless…"

"I'm not angry." And she wasn't, not anymore. Because she could see what was coming and now that it was there before her without any way to escape it, she was starting to grasp what a relief it would be to finally tell the truth.

"Unless," Allen continued, "You have feelings for me now?"

"Yes, I..." she whispered solemnly. Then she realized Allen had come to the wrong conclusion. "No, wait, not now!"

Allen carefully weighed this revelation and said the first thing that came to his heart. "What?"

"We're just friends now," she explained – slowly, because she was starting to get confused herself. "But there was a time when I felt otherwise about you."

"How otherwise?"

"Very otherwise." This was not turning out to be the somber outpour of emotion Eries had always pictured it would be. There was supposed to be some dramatic weeping, something on the order of a single trail of tears, while Allen either stoically told her it was never meant to be or breathlessly told her he felt the same. Mostly, they were just blinking at each other. Allen's mouth was in a wordless 'O' as he sought the proper response to hearing that his best friend had felt 'very otherwise' about him once upon a time.

Somehow, this was better than any scenario Eries had ever hoped for. With a confidence she had never thought possible, Eries set loose the words she had hidden within herself for so long. "I was in love with you for years."

* * *

Author's Notes: Yep, I ended it there. Just one piddling month to wait for the fallout. For the record, the nigh-Mary Sueish description of Eries' dress was intentional. I was going for 'Pwetty Pwincess at the ball' thing, as a contrast to Eries' usual demeanor and the not-so-romantic ending of the chapter.

Next up: Hopefully, a shorter chapter. I was going to try to keep these suckers in the five to six thousand word range, but you all know how good I am at keeping down the chapter length. Anyway, 'A Man and a Woman' – Allen and Eries finish their little chat, Allen finds out what his special duty is and the summit opens. Whee!


	6. A Man and a Woman

Intrigues of a Princess

V: A Man and a Woman

-

"You've been in love with me for years?"

Eries considered the best way to answer him. For some reason, a correction of his word usage was what came out of her mouth. "No, I _was_ in love with you for years."

It was strangely liberating for Eries. Those years when she had been in love with him had been marked with anxiety and cowardice at the thought of uttering the words. Now she had said them twice. Both times, they had come out freely. The dark portents of doomed romance Eries had once been positive they would carry were nowhere in sight.

"But you're not anymore?" Some men might have been disappointed to learn that they had lost a love they never knew they had in the first place. The only reason Allen was currently not among those men was because he was too befuddled to feel anything but confusion. "When did this happen?"

"When did I fall in love with you or when did I fall out?" Eries asked – still calm and getting a nagging feeling that she was sounding like a teacher trying to get her student to speak more clearly.

She wouldn't have had much success if that had been the case. Allen stopped speaking entirely. He stared instead, as if his meaning had been perfectly clear or as if Eries couldn't be acting any odder if she'd been doing cartwheels while claiming to be from the Mystic Moon.

He was right on both counts, Eries knew. It would be easy to guess when her feelings turned and nonchalant requests for clarification weren't exactly appropriate. In all the times she had tried to steel herself for this event, Eries never guessed the main difficultly would be not finding it awkward enough. It wasn't that she was indifferent. She and Allen were still friends. This conversation could not be conveniently forgotten. Whatever the two of them said would color their relationship for as long as they had one. But after all the time and emotion she had vested in her love for Allen, if she didn't find her confession cheeringly cathartic, she'd have to find it sad, pitifully so. That was a regret she didn't want to have, that she knew she _didn't_ have.

"I'm sorry, Allen. I didn't mean to come across as dismissive. When you have something bottled up inside you for so long, it's hard to control how it comes out. I never dreamed it would be this easy to tell you. I wish I had. I could have told you sooner and saved myself a lot of grief."

"I never knew, Eries. If I had-"

"Don't finish that thought." There was no need to. Eries knew exactly what he would say and it wasn't what she wanted to hear. "You're not responsible for my feelings or how I chose to deal with them. I didn't tell you to make you feel guilty about the past. I told you because…I don't know. Maybe because it's something that had to be said be to make way for the future."

Allen waited before asking the natural question. He didn't have an answer for it himself and wasn't sure Eries had one either. But he had to ask regardless, because even in the state of shock he was in, he knew how important the answer would be. "And what do you want that future to be?"

With that, some of the discomfort Eries had expected began to seep in. She could tell Allen anything he wanted to hear about her feelings in the past or in the present. Predicting the future wasn't so simple. She stopped thinking about it when they'd renewed their friendship. She was going to let the future be what it would be. That didn't mean she couldn't have preferences for what the future might be and that was what Allen wanted to know. Put on the spot, Eries was drawing a blank.

She never had put much stock in the stories about Hitomi Kanzaki and the bizarre cards she carried with her. What kind of insights could pictures on a card give? How could picking a card with a sun on it alter the life you would have had if you had only picked the card decorated with the picture of a tower? Skeptical as she was, Eries would have liked to receive one of those 'readings' that the girl had done right now. She wouldn't necessarily believe any of it, but at least it would put an idea in front of her that she could accept or reject. She could use some new ideas.

"I don't know, Allen," she said after not saying anything became worse than bringing back some of her old ideas. "I haven't thought about that for a long time."

"So you're happy with the way things are now?"

"Aren't you?"

"Of course," Allen said immediately, then backtracked almost as swiftly. "I mean, it's not as if I would be unhappy if things were different. I just didn't know things could be different."

"They can't be. You're still a knight. I'm still a princess. All the old arguments still apply."

"But those are arguments about why it shouldn't be, not if it is."

Eries tried to muster some of the bravado she had a few minutes ago to ask Allen what 'it' was supposed to mean only to find that the bravado had fled. It had taken her ability to pretend she didn't know exactly what 'it' meant along with it. She wanted both of them back. "It isn't. And the fact it shouldn't be is enough reason for it to not be so there's no reason to speculate if it could be."

For the second time tonight, Allen was reduced to saying, "What?"

"I meant-" Eries began but even she had a hard time deciphering what she had said. In simpler terms, she continued. "We're friends, good friends. This could be just one of many secrets we share between us, nothing more."

"And there's no part of you that wants it to be anything more?"

_I want you to stop asking me questions! _Out loud, she wasn't much gentler. "I told you I don't know. I really don't. Is there some reason why you keep asking me? I haven't asked you."

"No, you haven't. But I've been asking it of myself."

A large part of her fears in confessing to Allen had been what Allen's reaction would be. Her worst imaginings involved wrecked friendships and various degrees of embarrassment that favored the disgraced and ashamed end of the spectrum. In the few daydreams when she had let herself explore her wildest fancy – that he loved her in secret too – she had still been practical enough to come to the tame conclusion that nothing could come of it. And those were the daydreams. Reality was much harsher. But even as the familiar refrain of 'knight' and 'princess' played in her head, the question she hadn't asked Allen and the answer he hadn't quite given played alongside them, making tiny strides in volume.

She exhaled and took Allen's dare. "When you asked me if I had ever thought about being more than friends, was it just reminiscence for a night when you had contemplated it or is this something you've thought about recently?"

"When I asked, I was thinking about that night. But now…"

"But now? You are actually thinking about it?"

"I'm thinking what I thought that night."

"That night was four years ago! It is not four years ago!" She was getting angry again and didn't know how to stop it. She'd have to admit why she was angry first. Originally, it was the thought of the lost opportunity that had caused her to snap at Allen. That anger turned to contentment as her confession had brought the relief of a long burden finally put to rest. That, she had decided, was where her old feelings belonged – at rest. But then Allen had to go and rile them up with hints at possible feelings of his own and her decision was beginning to feel less and less decisive. From one extreme to the other and back again – she wasn't used to being pulled so emotionally. She had been once, but not any longer. She was reluctant to get re-acclimated.

Allen had reluctance of his own. "I hurt you without even knowing it, didn't I?"

"I told you, you're not responsible for I felt. You didn't know."

"I know now. And this is hurting you. Don't try to tell me it's not. Don't try to tell me it's not my fault."

"My entire world doesn't revolve around you, Allen. I'm quite capable of feeling what I feel without your input."

"I know you're capable. You're the most capable woman I've ever met. I also know that you only get so angry and defensive like you're being when someone cuts too close to your true feelings."

He was seeing right through her. Unfortunately for Eries, Allen was not being similarly transparent. He might be up to his old habit of trying to rescue every last damsel in distress he came across. He might not be up to anything at all. Eries wasn't that cynical to think it wasn't possible for him to have any romantic interest in her, however sudden. Her cynicism lied in the outcome of that interest.

There was a spark of curiosity within her that didn't care. Outcomes be damned, it wanted to know what Allen was getting at. But Eries knew better to give into the whims of curiosity. The outcomes might be unknown, but their consequences could be easily guessed. She was confident of that even if the rest of her confidence had evaporated.

Hoping to get some of it back, she resumed with the honestly that had given her peace earlier. "I do love you, Allen, as a friend. In the past, I wanted more than that. I would have given anything to have heard you say what you've said tonight. But that was in the past. I accept that; I'm even happy with that. I think one of the reasons why I'm happy with that is because we are still friends. If we couldn't be friends anymore-"

"What makes you think we would stop being friends?"

He flashed her one of those smiles of his, the kind that had charmed nearly every woman who had seen it. Eries hadn't been immune to its effect, still wasn't. But this was the first time she had ever thought she could see uncertainty behind it.

"We wouldn't be the same friends we are now. It's already different and look how well we've handled this discussion."

"We are still discussing it," Allen offered as proof that they were handling it just fine. "And if you were so afraid of things being different, you never would have told me how you felt."

"I didn't think you'd react the way you did! I thought you'd apologize for being a dense fool who couldn't see the obvious. Then, after you realized I was all right with that, you'd make a joke about your reputation and that would be that. You weren't supposed to start entertaining stupid notions!"

"It is foolish," Allen sighed. "I should know that by now. I knew it back then. After that night, I never let myself think about it again, except maybe that time you came to visit me at the Castello."

"We don't need to rehash that." More accurately, Eries didn't want to rehash it. That instance of deeply misguided drunken kissing that had almost led into something more misguided and completely irreversible was one of her thornier memories. Recalling the kissing was pleasant enough (even now, she had to admit) but all the accompanying feelings of embarrassment and regret for what hadn't been were not. "That was nothing but the result of too much wine," Eries added, repeating the explanation she and Allen had agreed on.

Allen was no longer so accepting of that excuse. "I know. We'd been drinking, your inhibitions were low and you thought you'd try something you'd never tried before because you were curious and I was your friend so it was safe to try it with me. I believed that too. I believed if I hadn't walked out of the room, you would have put a stop to it yourself."

"I would have," Eries said. "Eventually…So you can keep believing." That would make one of them that did.

"Hmm, maybe," Allen graciously agreed. "But you were right to call me a dense fool who couldn't see the obvious. How could I have ever thought that the ever reserved and logical Eries Aston would ever do something so risqué and irrational unless it was what she truly wanted?"

"What's the point of this, Allen? You don't need to add a phantom conquest to an already lengthy real list."

He brushed aside the slur. Eries wasn't yelling at him to insult him anyway. "You're being angry and defensive again. You don't need to be. I'm not trying to hurt you. I don't want to hurt you ever again. I'm just trying to understand what you felt, what you must have gone through."

"The point being that I did get through it. It's done-"

"And you don't ever want to go through it again," he concluded for her. "That's it, isn't it? For all your excuse of 'I'm a princess, you're a knight', that's what you're really afraid of?"

There it was, all out on the table along with a choice that was Eries' alone to make. She didn't want to be afraid. She didn't believe she was afraid. Neither was she thinking about titles or Marlene or any of the other complications that had always existed but had never stopped her before. It wasn't about what she had wanted then. It was about what she wanted now.

She still didn't know.

And she realized she wasn't afraid of an uncertain future. She had moved so far forward since the day she had left Allen alone in that storeroom to deal with the demons she couldn't fight for him. Allen, in turn, had taken steps of his own. Trying to rekindle an old one-sided love seemed as if it would push them back.

No, she didn't fear an uncertain future. She feared a future unable to build off the past because it had become mired in it instead.

"I'm sorry," Eries answered softly. She walked over to where Allen had discarded Celena's cape before they had started dancing. It was late, the night was growing chillier and she needed the excuse to hide her dampening eyes. "Please tell me you can accept that."

"I'll accept anything to keep you as my friend," he promised. "I just needed to know how you felt now. You're not the most open person with your emotions and I thought if I didn't press you-"

"And that's the reason why you were asking me all those leading questions? You were trying to press me into another confession?" Eries kept her back to him, wary of any answer he might give.

She was thankful when he didn't give one. "I just don't ever want you to think you have to hide how you feel from me. You've seen me at my most vulnerable. I want you to trust me the same way."

Eries almost laughed at that. She didn't think she could be more vulnerable then she had been tonight. "I do trust you, Allen," she sighed. "I never would have said a word about any this if I didn't."

"So this is…this is a good thing for us," he stammered. Eries always had been better at arguing a point than he.

Tonight was an off night for Eries. She could only offer general agreement. "Yes, I think so. We're not keeping any secrets from each other and we're still friends."

"And whatever happens, happens, right?"

_Whatever happens, happens, _she repeated to herself. That's what she'd been thinking earlier. _Let the future be what it will be. Whatever happens, happens_. They both meant the same thing. But Eries thought she heard an undercurrent in Allen's declaration – a more leading, a more hopeful undercurrent. Could she be shutting a door here tonight only to have Allen stick a foot in before it closed?

Was she really ending the night by reverting to the nervous girl who had examined every word out of Allen's mouth in search of a meaning she had wanted to hear?

The night ended with some degree of normalcy. Allen helped Eries with the cloak she hadn't managed to put back on yet and offered to walk her back to her room. At her door, he performed the standard bow and chaste clasping of her hand that he had performed many times before. Some nights, he would add a kiss to the back of her hand to the routine. Tonight was not one of those nights, though the clasping went on longer than usual.

Eries watched him disappear down the stairwell, still wondering exactly what 'whatever happens, happens' meant.

o-o-o-o-o

Eries did not have a good night. She had gone to bed expecting a full night's sleep. This long day had worn her out both physically and emotionally. She wound up hardly sleeping at all. Every time she was about to nod off, her thoughts would drift to her conversation with Allen. In her drowsy mind, their words changed. Most of Allen's turned into 'whatever happens, happens'. The remaining words took on a deeper significance or lost meaning entirely. There was a hidden message underneath all of it, skittering beyond her reach, and if she could just seize upon it, everything would be clear. Once awake, there were several moments when she had trouble separating the semi-dream conversation from the one that had actually taken place. These seconds of pure confusion made it difficult to put head to pillow and try to go to sleep again.

She gave up trying when dusk broke. The summit would be starting in a few hours. She'd be better off spending that time getting herself fully awake and sufficiently made-up so it wouldn't look as if she'd spent the night fretting about a non-existent love life that she didn't want anyway.

With the amount of powder she groggily put under her eyes to hide the dark circles (which were caused more by a trick of the lack of light than lack of sleep), she felt as ridiculous as she looked. She and Allen had settled things on a good note. They were still friends. He knew the truth and it had been shuffled into the past where it belonged. Silly little dreams couldn't change that.

She washed off the powder. The water in the basin had grown cold overnight but Eries welcomed the chill. It chased away the rest of her sleepiness and let her sharpen her mind. Today was going to full of political business; she couldn't afford distractions. Maybe another talk with Allen was in order – just to make absolutely, positively sure they understood each other – but it was nothing to lose sleep over.

_Except I did lose sleep over it, _she thought. She wondered if Allen had gone through the same thing. It had been his first night at Micha Revius' guest house. He'd once told Eries that he had trouble sleeping in unfamiliar places. If he hadn't been able to sleep, what had he done instead? Had it been more than strange surroundings that had kept him awake?

_He probably slept like a baby, _Eries snorted at herself. She didn't have the excuse of being half-asleep anymore and was getting a little annoyed with her preoccupation with Allen. Settling your past was supposed to make you think about it less.

She cut herself some slack. It wasn't as if she had started yesterday with the intention of telling Allen she'd been in love with him. The confession had been building for years. Just because it had come out suddenly didn't mean the fallout from it could be dealt with just as suddenly. Maybe two more talks with Allen were called for.

On her way to breakfast, a page caught up with her and gave her a message from Meiden. He wanted her to come to his office as soon as possible. Eries assumed he wanted to do some last minute strategizing before the summit convened. If he was hoping to bring her on board with his scheme, he should have given himself more time. He could have started in on Eries when she was an impressionable five-year-old and still would have been cutting it close.

Eries went to see him anyway. It would be a good idea to reach some kind of agreement on how they were going to address the other delegates. She knew Lord Poniard had written and would be giving the opening speech. The man was golden with a pen and had a deep booming voice that would bring everyone's attention to Asturia. It would be nice if she had something coherent to say when all eyes turned upon her to give the follow-up speech. It would be nicer if Meiden weren't rolling his eyes while she spoke.

She was rehearsing a possible introduction when she entered Meiden's office. One look at the person sitting opposite of Meiden made her forget every last word she'd come up with. Allen looked surprised to see her there too.

"Good, you're both here," Meiden said pleasantly. "I thought it would save some time to explain the situation to the two of you together."

Because 'what the hell are you up to now, you little weasel?' was an impolite question, Eries only asked, "And what situation would that be?"

"I'm not sure if you're aware of this or not, but the guard that had been assigned to you, Timothy Sedgewick, is a candidate for the Caeli. I'm afraid with his participation in the tournament he won't be able to provide sufficient security for you anymore. Given your prominence in the summit, I don't think now is a good time for you to be without a guard."

Eries could see where this was going and how little of a chance she had at derailing it. It never hurt to try though. "I'm not that concerned. I'd been thinking about giving up on a private guard anyway. The standard palace guard will be enough."

"Ah, but it's better to be safe than sorry, isn't it?" Meiden countered. "And with today's political climate, one can never be too safe."

_Only because it's weasels like you that are creating today's political climate. _She didn't appreciate the lesson on the importance of safe over sorry either. Yesterday morning at this time, she was convincing herself not to be so paranoid about Meiden. Better safe than sorry indeed.

Meiden unfurled the rest of his sorry-in-the-pathetic-sense plan. "It's unfortunate that your leave of absence had to be cancelled, Sir Schezar, but I'm familiar with both your sense of duty and skill with a sword. Even if the other Caeli weren't already assigned to other duties, you are the perfect candidate for this job."

He was the perfect candidate for Meiden's purposes. He also looked like a good candidate to the objective outsider. A princess should have the most skilled swordsman in the country as her guard. But Eries was not Meiden, thank Jichia, and she also wasn't objective. She recalled with perfect clarity the disgust Meiden had shown towards her for forsaking her chance at the throne for Allen. It was amazing how easily he had gotten over that disgust once he found out a way to exploit its source.

Allen, wary of the merchant but blissfully unaware of the vicious war of words he had had with Eries, responded in proper knightly fashion. "I'm honored by the faith you've placed in me. On my life, I will keep the princess safe."

"I expected to hear no less," Meiden said, his wide grin showing off a number of teeth Eries would have liked to punch in. "Your service to Princess Marlene was so exemplary, it gave me every reason to put my faith in you."

Even Allen caught the undertones in that statement. A knight, however, was in no position to question the head of the council and the king's right-hand man. He settled on giving Eries a puzzled glance. A princess had the right to question anyone she wanted short of the king. Despite his difficulties with Aston, Allen knew Meiden Fassa fell well short of the king.

Eries already knew what was going on though but was reluctant to spell it out for Allen while Meiden was still there. She ignored the glance and Allen in general. With a long day of dealing with Meiden ahead of her, it was best not to react to this stunt at all. "Good, now that everything is settled," she said evenly, "Meiden, I believe it would be beneficial for a quick review of our strategy for the opening of the summit. If you could excuse us, Allen?"

Since his first glance hadn't gotten him anything, Allen didn't bother with a second. He rose immediately to leave. "If you need me, I'll be waiting outside."

"I hope I haven't given you too many surprises over the past few days, Princess," Meiden said once Allen was gone. "But I guess it's good practice for you to be kept on your toes for the summit."

"I've certainly gotten my fair share of dealing with duplicitous fools lately."

"How harsh, Princess. I'll give you duplicitous, but I'm no fool."

"The last few minutes have convinced me otherwise. Oh, how ever will I be able to concentrate at the summit when my good friend is serving as my bodyguard?" Eries said mockingly. "Really, Meiden, this feeble attempt at distracting me so you may do as you please is a good year past feasible."

"Then why didn't you tell your 'good friend' what you suspected I was up to? Not that I'm acknowledging your base accusations, of course."

"It would have been an embarrassment for all three of us, not to mention a waste time. Can we please move on the summit? Unless part of your plan was to annoy other nations into compliance with our petty bickering."

Allen wasn't the only person to know what an angry and defensive Eries meant. Meiden readily agreed to her request, sure that he had gotten what he wanted.

Lord Poniard had already given Meiden a copy of the speech he was to give. Eries read trough it, marking small additions here and editing out a few things there. Overall, Eries was quite pleased with the speech. The closing paragraph waxing poetic on the future of Gaea as a whole was a good lead in for bringing up summit agenda. She and Meiden were able to churn out in no time a good outline for what they wanted to say when it was Asturia's turn to speak.

Eries was positive Meiden would do some editing of his own when she left, but she'd take care of that later. She'd kept Allen waiting long enough.

Allen didn't ask her straight off about what Meiden had meant by his reference to Marlene. He gave her a few seconds to speak up of her own accord. Eries wasn't particularly chatty.

Finally Allen blurted it out. "The way he was talking…he knows about Marlene, doesn't he?"

Eries nodded. It looked like that was the case.

"How did he find out?"

Eries paused as she tried to come up with a way to break the news to Allen that her father had figured out some time ago what had gone on between his daughter and her bodyguard that wouldn't cause him to panic. Concluding there wasn't one, she muttered something about her father probably telling him.

Allen didn't immediately panic. His long training as a knight allowed him to hold out for a few seconds before saying "King Aston knows…" in the scratchy voice of the damned.

"He's known for a while, Allen, and he hasn't done anything terrible to you yet. It's unlikely he'll do anything in the future."

"Nothing terrible? He threw me in jail and sent a letter to Freid accusing me of treason!"

"Well, yes…but all that was about placating Zaibach, not punishing you. I'm not saying he didn't enjoy making you a scapegoat, but he didn't set out to make you one. It just happened that way."

"How fortunate for him," Allen sighed, but he accepted Eries' explanation. Aston _could_ have done worse to him. For one thing, he could have filed legitimate treason charges for the affair with Marlene – and done it at a time when Allen didn't have the luxury of going to another country and thus be able to avoid a quick walk to the gallows. He didn't like it that Aston had seen fit to share that kind of information about his daughter to a man like Meiden Fassa, but beggars could hardly be choosers, especially when the person who was doing the choosing was a king. "Just tell me he didn't find out about it from gossip. Marlene's reputation-"

"You don't have to worry about that. Outside of my family and Meiden, no one else knows." Eries wasn't certain that was entirely true (and suspected that it wasn't), but she didn't have any concrete proof that anyone else knew. Nuri en Freid could have had another reason to call Chid 'too Asturian'. Kaja could have had another reason to desperately steer the conversation away from Chid's hero worship of Allen. Meiden could have kept his fat mouth shut for a change. It might not be probable that she was right but it could be considered possible.

"Then how did he find out?"

Eries added 'people could be blind enough not to notice the strong resemblance between Allen and Chid' to her list of possibilities. Her father just had a very keen eye and knew Allen had been Marlene's guard – that was it. Except it wasn't and she knew Allen wouldn't swallow that excuse. "He noticed some similarities between you and Chid," she mumbled. "And…"

"So he knows that I'm Chid's father as well." Allen had to lean against the wall to absorb this new fact. "Do you think he told Meiden?"

One reason why Eries so rarely used cheerful optimism was because she wasn't very good at it. "I don't think Meiden's told anyone," she said.

Allen winced. On top of finding out that two of the people he would most like to not know his secret were two that did, there was still something that bothered him. He had a feeling once Eries answered his question that sense of unease wasn't going to go away but get stronger. He asked regardless. "Why would Meiden speak about Marlene in relation to me becoming your guard?"

This was precisely what Eries had been trying to avoid when she shooed Allen out of Meiden's office. Telling Allen about her father's knowledge of the affair with Marlene was looking easy in comparison. What was she supposed to say? _You know that thing we talked about last night? The whole 'I used to be in love with you' thing? Father knew about that too. Naturally, he told Meiden about it and now the weasel thinks he can distract me from the summit by waving you in front of my face. Oh, and I know that Meiden told Dryden because Dryden and I talked about it. I thought you'd want to know that in case you weren't horrified enough._

"Well, you know Meiden," she ventured, "He's such a grubby little toad he thinks everyone else is as common as he is. He probably assumed with what happened with Marlene and then Millerna and your reputation in general…"

"He couldn't think that I would–" he began to protest. He stopped for two reasons. The first one was because it was obvious Meiden did think Allen would. The second one was because the facts of the situation were basically as Eries presented them. Over the years his reputation had been exaggerated, but he couldn't consider it without merit without indulging in a lot of self-delusion. Dr. Atrineu frowned on that sort of thing. He couldn't deny his affair with Marlene either and as much as he would like to, he couldn't say that he had handled Millerna's crush on him with grace and aplomb.

He had a third reason too, but last night's talk with Eries was too raw to think about now. It sort of fell into the same category as the second reason anyway and the last thing he needed was more proof that Meiden was right – about him at least; Eries' honor was still in tact.

He felt as if something needed to be defended, so he picked up her cause. "Regardless of what Meiden thinks of me, he can't believe that you would be so easily swayed. It's not as if he knows about….what we discussed last night."

"Actually…" Eries said hesitantly. There was no way out of it now.

Leaning against the wall was no longer sufficient for Allen. He had to walk over to a bench set into the alcove at the end of the hall. Eries followed. It was more private there, especially when Eries pulled the cord on the heavy drapes that hung from the arch that framed the entrance of the alcove. As long as she and Allen could keep their voices down, it would do.

"Why is it that you can go for years without hearing about something, but from the moment you do hear about it, you start hearing about it constantly? And you discover that everyone else had already heard about it long before you ever did?" he mumbled.

"Allen…" Eries understood that Allen had received his fair share of surprises recently. She understood why he was upset about them. She'd just like a little more understanding on his part. Her secret was in this too after all. "I've heard enough about it for the two of us. Consider yourself lucky that you weren't privy to the lectures I've received from both my father and Meiden Fassa."

That stirred Allen from his self-centric reflections but it also had the effect of getting him to repeat his apology from last night.

Eries still wasn't in the mood to hear it. "I told you not to apologize!" she insisted. "You are not responsible for my feelings."

"Aren't I though? I didn't force you to feel the way you felt, but I did overlook it. You are my closest friend and I completely missed something that was important to you."

"Because I hid it from you! How many times do I have to say that?"

"And you didn't hide it from your father? Do you expect me to believe that you told him yourself? He figured it out, didn't he? He figured it out and I didn't."

He was right. Aston had put the pieces together even before Eries. She couldn't use the excuse that a father would naturally know his daughter better than a stranger would. She and Aston hadn't been close enough to claim such a bond. It wasn't until years later when he fell ill that he and Eries had started talking openly to each other about things other than council business. Yet he had known…and Allen hadn't.

Allen was still wrong in a way Eries couldn't quite place. There was more to it than Allen's refusal to not feel guilty but that's what she latched on to. "Is that what you did after you left – spent all night thinking up ways this was your fault? It's no one's fault. It doesn't even matter if it had been someone's fault. It's over and we agreed that everything was fine between us. Don't you remember saying it was a good thing that I told you?"

"I know what we said, but I couldn't help thinking about it. You've dealt with this for years. I've only known about it for one night. It's a lot to come to terms with in one night."

"I understand that," Eries relented. She should know since Allen's explanation bore a remarkable resemblance to the excuse she had made for herself for hardly sleeping last night. It was some consolation to know Allen hadn't slept like a baby and had been as fretful as she had been. Conversely, her decision that only two more talks would be needed to wrap everything up was increasingly looking to be an extremely low estimate. At the rate things were going, she and Allen would need their own summit.

"I understand," she said again, "and I do appreciate your concern for my feelings, but it's too much, too late. You're almost making me wish I hadn't said anything."

"Almost?"

"Yes, almost. I still believe it needed to said regardless of how we've handled it so far. As you said though, it's only been one night. A week from now we might be laughing about it."

One week never looked to be both so far away and too close at the same time. Allen tried smiling as if in favor of a quick passage of days. He was only partially successful. His attempt at positivism wandered more into pessimism. "You're right. I'm focusing on the past again when I should be looking forward."

"Old habits, I suppose," Eries sighed.

"…Very old habits. I guess that's why it's so easy to slip back into them even though I know I shouldn't. First with Chid and then you…"

"Don't fall too far back into them," she cautioned gently. "Maybe it would be best if we gave ourselves more time to think before we speak. Then we'd both be surer of where we stand."

"Does that mean you're not as sure as you said you were?"

Eries again wondered if Allen meant more than he was saying. Unsure, she decided that at least she could be clear. "I meant you'd be surer," she amended. "Once you've gotten it in your head that you're making something out of nothing, we both can get back to normal."

"Of course that's what you meant."

"I said it was."

"And I agreed."

"It doesn't sound as if you agreed."

"It sounds as if you're making something out of nothing."

"I…" Eries finally caught on and smiled. "You're getting very good at this."

"Celena's given me a lot of practice. Usually I'm on the other side of the argument but I thought I should try it – to make you feel better about all this…about us."

It did make her feel better. A thought came to her that made her feel better still. "Hmm, Celena. I would love to see her go up against some of these diplomats, if, that is, the entire future of Gaea weren't at stake. I might be worth it to introduce her to Meiden though."

"I thought you cared about my sister."

Eries appreciated pretty much any joke that took a shot at Meiden Fassa, but what made her really happy was the sense that she and Allen were already getting back to how they had been before her confession. Far be it from her to break the momentum. "I'd keep her exposure to Meiden very limited, just enough to distract him while he's addressing the delegates. That would only be fair considering the stunt he tried to pull."

"But I'm not going to distract you as he planned. If anything, I'm going to remind you that the summit will be starting shortly and you need to get ready."

Lost in the conversation, Eries _had_ managed to forget. She had things to do before the summit opened. The foremost among them was to get something to eat. It would make for a wonderful moment if her introduction was accompanied by the rumblings of her stomach.

She hurried Allen out of the alcove with demands of 'let's go, let's go."

"We still have a good hour," he protested.

Eries wasn't listening. She was charging down the hallway, muttering to herself. "I should have taken that copy of Lord Poniard's speech Meiden and I worked on. He's probably crossed out all the corrections I suggested. He's probably completely rewritten the outline we did."

"Whatever happens, I'm sure you'll deal with it."

Eries stopped dead in her tracks. "What did you just say?"

"I said, 'Whatever happens, I'm sure you'll deal with it'."

"Right…that's what you said." For a split second, Eries had been convinced he'd said something else – the very phrase from last night that had wormed its way into her subconscious and kept her awake. She thought she would have been relieved to know she had been wrong. Instead, she felt a small twinge of disappointment.

* * *

Author's Note: Because the last chapter was a cliffhanger, I posted sooner than a month. I just didn't post the version of the chapter most of you probably wanted to read. Don't kill me! I thought I was going to write a nice scene in which they finally got together when I started this chapter myself. Blame Eries and Allen. They were the ones going against my outline (which is now in need of serious re-working). It just didn't feel right for a romance to start at that point. Since the romance would have been triggered by the revelation of Eries' old feelings, it was if they'd be building off their old dysfunctional relationship instead of starting off fresh with the shiny, new and much more functional relationship they have now. Don't worry, they'll get there. The seed's been planted – and come on, isn't it kind of fun that Allen seems to be one more interested in making it grow?

On to better news. Sakura has drawn some pictures of last chapter's action including Eries in her spiffy dress. They're up at the Eries shrine and linked in my LJ. You can find both links in my profile. Be sure to drop a line to Sakura at her e-mail: quezroc(at)yahoo(dot) com.

Next up – Love and Peace or Else. The council opening all of you were so excited about. :P Expect it sooner than a month as it's short (cut off from the end of this chapter actually).


	7. Love and Peace or Else

Intrigues of a Princess

VI: Love and Peace or Else

The last time Eries had been in the Grand Hall the great nations of Gaea had been gathered to decide what to do about Zaibach. Once again those great nations had assembled. The weighty task this time was to do pretty much the same thing. There were differences between the two occasions. Most notably, representatives from Freid and Zaibach had come. Freid had been too busy burying its dead and trying to shelter its living to make the trip earlier. Zaibach, of course, had been knee-deep in preparations for its plan to conquer all of Gaea.

The furniture had been rearranged too. Instead of being set up in a semi-circle so that everyone could face whoever had the floor, it had been put in a full circle – the result being that half of the delegates would face whoever had the floor and the other half would face the backside of whoever had the floor. Eries could appreciate the inherent symbolism of having everyone joined together in a circle, but since she was currently seated on the wrong side of Lord Poniard as he gave the opening speech, she believed someone could have put more thought into the arrangements.

In other regards her seat was well-positioned. Egzardia was to her right, followed by Freid, then Cesario, Zaibach, Basram and ending with Fanelia at her left. From her vantage point, she could see the Cesarian delegation at all times while giving the appearance she was paying attention to the speaker on the floor. The only drawback was that Meiden could do the same.

Sitting next to the Egzardians provided some amusement. Lord Poniard always had been the type to talk with his arms. Now that he was standing and without a council table to provide concealment, it turned out he threw his whole body into a speech. As he pantomimed his thesis on how history shapes the future, he leaned forward at his waist on certain words for emphasis. The opposite reaction of that forward movement was to push his posterior back.

Lord Poniard emphasized a lot of words.

Tellot couldn't let this pass without letting out a few giggles that were awfully girlish for a man his size. They were also highly unbecoming of a royal. Bennor let Tellot know this by first glaring at him after each giggle then softly but not subtly coughing after it became obvious Tellot's attention was wholly on Lord Poniard. Eventually Marqesita scribbled down a note and passed it to her older brother. It cured Tellot of his giggling fit instantly. He didn't even laugh when Lord Poniard declared, "We! Must! Not! Lose! Sight! Of! This!"

Eries sneaked a peak at the note when Tellot slipped it into a portfolio with other papers. She only saw it long enough to determine it was written in Egzardian and thus was mostly indecipherable to her. She did pick out a word that she knew Marqesita was fond of using when her temper ran out. Also, it was hard not to notice the note's exclamation point to words used ratio was roughly as high as Lord Poniard's speech.

She assumed Tellot behaved when she took to the floor after Lord Poniard was finished. Eries took care to turn every now and then so she wasn't always facing the same delegation and lost sight of him a couple of times. Her speech was a combination of the outline she and Meiden had prepared along with a few adlibbed pieces. The new material was on the importance of openness and honesty in building successful bonds between nations. She threw in a line about setting aside personal ambitions for the greater good. It was delivered, as it turned out, just as her rotations brought her around to facing Meiden.

In the interest of fairness, the order in which each country would speak once the host nation was through had been decided by lottery. Freid had won the first spot and Chid gave Eries a slightly nervous smile as he took her spot on the floor. Eries felt for him. For years, she had had a discomfort with public speaking. Addressing the council had squelched that discomfort and left her with a smooth and confident manner. When she had been five however, 'squeaky' and 'self-conscious' would have been a better choice of adjectives.

Chid was none of those things. Smiling at Eries was the only sign of unease he gave. He launched into his speech without hesitation. It was fairly obvious he was reciting it from memory, but it worked for the subject matter. The opening of his speech was a brief recounting of the reconstruction process Freid was going through and the plain delivery reinforced that it was something they had to deal with and overcome day after day.

The other delegates listened closely. Chid was describing what they could have faced and what they might yet still endure if this summit wasn't successful. Van Fanel nodded along with Chid's speech. He was familiar with its content from first hand experience.

One delegation, or a part of it, seemed to be missing the point. "Aww, what a cute kid," Tellot whispered after Chid had finished speaking about limited resources.

Bennor skipped the coughing and went straight for a 'will you shut up?'.

"But look at him with his little hat and the little sword at his side…"

Marqesita reached for a pen. Tellot got the hint by some miracle and went back to being quiet, though not before adding, "He is a cute little guy."

"And probably more articulate and more erudite than you too," Bennor hissed.

Eries didn't like to agree with him, but he had a point. She would bet money that Tellot didn't even know what 'erudite' meant while Chid had a surprisingly large vocabulary, almost as surprising as the fact that Tellot liked children. Then again, children were people at his intelligence level.

Eries forced herself to stop eavesdropping on the Egzardians so she could gauge how well Chid's speech was being received by his own country. Kaja beamed with pride at his young charge. Nuri en Freid did not. Eries only glanced at him through the corner of her eyes and not often. She didn't want Nuri to think she was watching him. It wouldn't have mattered much anyway. Every time she ventured a glance in his direction, Nuri had the same not-quite-a-frown-but-definitely-not-a-smile on his face.

This expression soon faded as Chid entered the second part of his speech, the part about how Freid couldn't have made the progress it had made without the support of her fellow Gaeans. He went on to give special appreciation for Asturia's generous assistance. Eries could almost feel Nuri's eyes rolling at that one.

Chid wrapped up with a nice message about how Freid could have fallen into ruin as a victim of war but instead rose up to become a symbol of what could be accomplished when nations came together in the spirit of generosity.

He drew a long round of applause. Most politicians would have considered themselves to be too inured to sentimentalism to be moved by the musings of a cute kid, but when the cute kid was a well-spoken war orphan and duke speaking on the devastation of his homeland, they softened up a bit. The ones that didn't clapped anyway. Nobody wanted to be known as the delegate who snubbed the five-year-old.

When Eries thought Chid was looking her way, she mouthed the words, 'You did well.' Later and in private, she would give him more praise but right now it was more important for her to be a respectful princess instead of a proud aunt. She guessed that Chid also knew he needed to put title before family at the moment because he didn't give any response. She risked another glance at Nuri and froze momentarily as it seemed he was looking right back at her. But then she noticed his focus was actually a little behind her. She took another look at her nephew and realized he was looking at the same spot.

As part of his new assignment as her guard, Allen's attendance at the summit had become mandatory. He had taken up position standing along the wall behind the Asturian delegation to be within reach but not be obtrusive. Alucier, as head of security for the whole summit, stood with him. It turned out to be an excellent position for Alucier to provide security of a different sort by conveniently remembering a vital security issue that he had to discuss with Allen. Something about the doors at the back of the hall and out of sight of everyone from Freid needed to be checked out.

Eries was grateful that Alucier had noticed who Nuri and Chid had been so keen on observing. Allen would probably be curious as to how Alucier had known it was a bad thing that he had been under such scrutiny. Allen had survived finding out Aston and Meiden Fassa knew; one of his close friends being in on the secret wouldn't be nearly as shocking. It still warranted having another talk with him, if only to reassure Allen that Alucier was the last on the list of everyone who knew. As far as Eries knew, at any rate.

With the two Caeli off handling the door crisis, neither Chid nor Nuri had anything left to look at so they turned to each other. Despite his disapproval of Chid's message, Nuri gave him the same encouragement Eries had given the boy for the message's delivery. He even went so far as to put his hand on Chid's shoulder when he rejoined Kaja and Nuri at Freid's table.

The more Eries saw of the man, the less she understood him.

Fanelia went next. Van Fanel spoke too of the destruction that had been to his homeland. Unlike Chid, he didn't dwell on his helpful neighbors. He praised his people for the strength and resolve they had shown and concluded that it would see them through the reconstruction. With such a set-up, it came as a surprise when he continued by denouncing Fanelia's long-standing policy of isolationism.

"I once thought it was enough to for me to be strong to protect my people. I thought it was a sign of weakness to need the help of others. When my country was attacked, I was willing to fight – no, I wanted to fight – to my death to defend it. But it was a great man who told me that my duty was to my people, not to my pride. He died so that I could escape, so that I could one day return and reclaim Fanelia for its people. Still, after his death, I wanted vengeance. I wanted to destroy the people who had destroyed my country; I wanted them to suffer as I had suffered. I was willing to risk all that I had, willing to do whatever I had to do, regardless of what or who blocked my path. And Fate did put obstacles in my path. But Fate was not so cruel as to leave that path without company. There were those who aided me despite my refusals, who believed in me despite my unwillingness to trust them. They gave up their honor. They gave up their fortune. They gave up the safety of the home they had been seeking to return to my side. They did all of this without my asking. And because of their sacrifices, I know that the true weakness is to mistake isolation for independence, arrogance for pride. Fanelia has long lived apart from other nations. We didn't need your trade – we had our own resources, our own crops. We didn't need your alliances – we were samurai with the knowledge and power to protect ourselves. We lived for centuries as an island among the mountains and we prospered. Our wealth might not have matched that of other nations, our industry might not have been as advanced, but we were content with what we had. Our men had work, our women had healthy children. We had all that we wanted…until an army came and burned it all away. Would Fanelia have been able to avoid this destruction if we had been able to call upon allies? I don't know. Perhaps nothing could have saved us then. But I am looking towards the future. The people of Fanelia will rebuild. From the ashes, we will raise up houses and stores and farms and when all else is complete, our castle. But I will not build up walls. It was only with the aid of others that I was able to reclaim my country and I will not use my power to cut myself and my country off again. Fanelia is a part of Gaea. What affected us wound up affecting the entire world. So what affects the world will now affect Fanelia."

Eries should have known that Van Fanel wasn't the kind of man to merely dress a part. He came to the summit in the regalia of a king and he addressed the delegates with the regality of a king. And he had done the addressing in more words than Eries could ever remember him saying at one time – at all times added up together actually.

It was a pleasant surprise for her. For others, it was a shock. When it really counted, Meiden could force himself to keep his face in placid indifference regardless of which direction things were headed for him. He wasn't as skilled in masking a nervous tick which led him to tap his pen against his knee. He was able to hide the movement under the table at council meetings, but with Eries sitting right beside him, he was as obvious as Lord Poniard had been.

The contact between pen and knee was barely audible. Eries enjoyed listening to it anyway. She and Lord Poniard had been cogent enough advocates for unity in their speeches but Chid and Van Fanel had been the ones to truly set the tone for the day. Their countries had suffered the worst from the war yet they hadn't spoken with any bitterness of resentment for what had happened. That was the kind of leadership people wanted to get behind publicly, even if in private they might favor Meiden's style of cynical backroom dealings. The more public that support became (and a person would have to living in cave not to know about this summit), the harder it was to work those backroom deals. Just as no one wanted to be the one to disrespect Chid, no one wanted to be exposed as the manipulative little schemer in the room full of dreamers. Even Meiden. The pen stopped tapping while he applauded Van Fanel's speech, then it went back to work.

Eries wasn't naïve enough to believe that Meiden was tapping out a dirge of defeat. The good will put forth by Freid and Fanelia wouldn't last forever. Nor would it be enough to derail Meiden's plans. He might find it was harder to recruit those not already on board to his cause but those who had thrown in with him before the summit even started weren't going to suddenly be inspired to abandon their ways and fight for a brighter future for all of Gaea. They would have to be more careful with their conspiracies – that was all.

Whereas Meiden wasn't thrilled with Fanelia's sudden emergence as a political force, Basram took full advantage of the positive air of Fanel's speech. Their delegates played the penitent nation angle to the hilt. There was a lot of 'See what the horrors of war drove us to do?' followed by 'May we build a world where we'll never have to do it again'. It was more or less what Eries had expected them to say; they were just lucky to have a lead in that made the lines easier to swallow.

The speaker for Cesario was the man who had found Eries to be such a delightful dance partner the night before. He was no less amiable in his speech though it was, at this point, a rehash of what others had said. With Cesario's limited role in the war, he didn't even have any interesting anecdotes to relay. _But then I'm sure_ _Chid and Fanel_ _would have loved to have been able to give such a bland speech_, Eries thought darkly.

General Adelphus took to the floor for Zaibach when Cesario was through. He had taken over the reins of leadership basically because he was the only one left in a position to do so. Dornkirk was dead. His sorcerers had faded into the darkness in which they so loved to work. If they were ever found, they would only shun the exposure the work of a politician creates. The Energist bomb had been indiscriminate of rank. When it had fallen, it had killed everyone from the lowest grunts to all of Adelphus' fellow generals. The rule of Zaibach had been left up for grabs; Adelphus had seized it. Now the rest of the world waited to learn for what purpose.

He did not mince words. Military through and through, Adelphus had no use for the language of politicians. His speech was plain, short and most of all, very blunt. "You don't want me here. In many ways, it would be easier if I weren't here. You could decide among yourselves what measures to take against Zaibach and we would have little choice but to accept them. We have no real army left with which to fight you. That's not to say we wouldn't try to if we thought you had gone too far, only that I am smart enough to know the inevitable outcome of that fight. I'm also smart enough to know the difference between a fight worth losing and a fight not worth winning. I believe all of us soldiers learned that lesson on that day on the battlefield when we agreed as one to lay down our arms. I believe, too, that Zaibach has no reason to fight anymore."

While his last sentence could be classified as good news, most everyone in the hall was dwelling on the quasi-threat Adelphus had issued. 'We'd fight you if we could' wasn't an ideal opener. The rest of Adelphus' speech only went slightly better.

"I could blame my past actions on Emperor Dornkirk but I will not insult you with the excuse that I was following orders. A man takes responsibility for his actions. He prides himself on what he has done right and atones for what he has done wrong. That is what I will do as Zaibach's new leader. That is what the citizens of Zaibach will do as the proud people we have become."

To say that Adelphus' bold speech had been surprising would be like saying the ocean's a little wet. Eries had expected a groveling match between Basram and Zaibach over who could show the most remorse. Adelphus had pledged penance but it sounded as if whatever penance was forthcoming was going to be on his terms and his terms alone. He wasn't going to beg.

If any of the delegates had doubts about that, Adelphus cleared them up by first turning to Chid and then Van Fanel. "I will not ask for you to forget what Zaibach has done. I will not ask for you to forgive it. I only ask that you judge us on what actions we take now and treat us with as much or as little regard as those actions warrant."

Adelphus retook his seat without waiting for the applause that had followed every other speech. That was a prudent move. Fanel acknowledged Adelphus' comment with a nod but all the other delegates appeared to have lost some of their fine motor skills and couldn't bring their hands together to produce anything but the faintest of claps.

It was Egzardia's turn next. Tellot grumbled to himself about the poor timing. "Why couldn't I have gone after the cute kid? Everybody liked the cute kid."

Instead of chiding him, his two siblings looked as if they agreed with him. Marqesita gave him one last command to 'stick to the script' while Bennor murmured what Eries determined was a prayer.

Some people prayed for good health or fortune. Bennor beseeched his gods to make sure his brother didn't make an ass out of himself.

The gods of Egzardia were generous. Tellot made it through the speech without a hitch. Despite the respectable delivery, Eries didn't pay as much attention to it as she should have. The contents were nearly identical to Cesario's speech and it was more amusing to watch Bennor and Marqesita clutch the edge of their table in preparation of the worst while simultaneously staring intently at Tellot as if they could mentally keep the worst from occurring. They sighed in relief as Tellot wrapped up by offering another prediction for a brighter future.

"You two didn't think I could do it," Tellot whispered at his siblings when he retook his seat.

They didn't say he was wrong. That didn't mean they apologized to him. "Yes, Tellot," Bennor sneered. "You recited the speech we spent the last several days drilling into your head without falling over or inserting one of those off-color 'jokes' you're so fond of. Good boy."

"Jerk."

"Oaf."

"You are both being idiots," Marqesita said in Egzardian while still smiling pleasantly at the other delegates. With the skill of the most talented of ventriloquists, she continued to berate her brothers through pursed lips. "Tellot just finished speaking. Everyone is looking at us. Quit acting like two-year-olds."

That silenced them. Eries hadn't been able to make out the words, but Marqesita's tone was such that she gathered they were terse and biting. As Eries once again took the floor to announce the schedule for the rest of the summit she pondered the benefits of knowing a second language. Recognizing an Egzardian curse when she heard it just wasn't the same as being able to roll off a few in succession. It would be so nice if she could chew out Meiden without everyone else knowing what she was saying. It really wouldn't even matter that much that Meiden wouldn't be able to understand her. It was about the therapeutic benefits.

There wasn't much to go over. With the opening speeches out of the way, the summit would recess for the rest of the day. They'd open again tomorrow morning to prioritize the items on their agenda. From the sounds of it, regulating Zaibach's military was going to coast to an easy win as the hottest topic while Basram's military might have slipped a notch due to their delegate's expert groveling.

At most, tomorrow was looking to be another half-day for the summit. That fit right into the schedule. Tomorrow was also to be the opening of the Caeli tournament. After a solid morning of talking in the Grand Hall the delegates could look forward to an afternoon under the sun watching Asturia's finest swordsmen beat each other senseless with dull-edged practice weapons. That actually might be therapeutic too – assuming none of the delegates got overly excited imagining themselves to be the ones sparring. Eries wouldn't make any promises herself. She knew she'd be spending a lot of time tonight with Meiden. They had to review today's speeches as well as settle on future plans.

She should have done a little more planning regarding her closing remarks. She wound up ending the first day of a peace summit by extending an invitation for everyone to come watch a fighting tournament. Eries hoped the timing was only ironic and definitely not prophetic.

The other delegates either didn't notice or didn't care. They seemed enthused about the tournament. The fame of the Knights Caeli did go beyond Asturian borders. Few people didn't enjoy watching the graceful movements and skilled swordplay the Knights displayed. The ones that didn't were usually on the receiving end of their sword strokes. Those people wouldn't be around to complain anyway.

As everyone filtered out of the Hall, Allen and Alucier returned to their old posts for security. A few extra curious delegates hung around them to ask them about the tournament. They gamely fielded the questions while keeping an open eye for anything suspicious. The biggest threat they encountered was Chid coming over to tell Allen all about how Marlene had told him all about the tournament Allen had won to become a Caeli.

"I gather that you were downplaying your skills the other day, Sir Schezar," Nuri commented.

Caught off guard, Allen gaped at the man before thinking of a suitable response. "Humility is as an important ability for a knight as skill with a sword."

That must have been the answer Nuri was looking for because he softened – at least towards Allen. "We monks are taught a similar lesson in Freid. It would seem though that general from Zaibach is no knight or monk."

"He was rather bold," Eries said politely. Like all other conversations she had had with Nuri, she had no idea where he was going.

"I admit though, I prefer his bravado to the simpering of Basram."

Agreeing with Nuri would have been insulting to Basram. Disagreeing with him would have been telling a lie. Everyone remained quiet, except Alucier, who couldn't stop his sarcastic impulses from making him mutter, "I thought he was going to cry."

Eries thought that perhaps there was some sense of humor lurking within Nuri as he began to laugh. "We may yet see some tears when it comes time to discuss that Energist Bomb of theirs."

_They better not be too tearful_, Eries thought, _or else that will play right into Meiden's hands. _She kept this to herself. Nuri was being positively chummy in comparison to the previous times they had spoken. It would be a shame to ruin it by mentioning that her co-chair at the summit was running a conspiracy to get all of Gaea under Asturia's control. Playing along was the better course of action. She didn't get too playful though. "It seems it will be a while until we're privy to that performance. Zaibach acts as if it wants us to go after them first."

"Maybe they think this tournament of yours will be a distraction against making serious decisions," Nuri sniffed.

So much for chummy. The sad part was that Eries understood exactly where he was coming from. Meiden hadn't pushed up the tournament just to provide entertainment. One couldn't put the word 'motive' in a sentence with Meiden Fassa's name without the word 'ulterior' putting in an appearance.

"You don't want to watch the tournament?" Chid asked Nuri.

"There is a difference between the things we wish to do and the things we must do."

Chid acted chastised, as if all five-year-olds should have enough of a well-ingrained sense of responsibility to not even ask about enjoying something so frivolous. Chid _was _a special case, but Eries was also very defensive of her family. "I believe we delegates can figure out a way to conduct the business of the summit and take in a round or two of the tournament without getting confused as to which of the tasks is our priority."

"That is true, Princess," Nuri acknowledged, "Though I do have to wonder about the eldest son in the Egzardian delegation. Bring something shiny into the room and he looks as if he would wander off in pursuit without a second thought."

Through great effort, Alucier was able to keep from smirking at Nuri's assessment of Tellot. Eries turned out to be the one who couldn't stop herself. It didn't help that she kept hearing Tellot enthuse about how cute Chid's hat was.

Eries faked a cough to cover the twitching of her lips. "Yes, well, looks can be deceiving," she said. Looks, in this case, were dead-on accurate. The only quibble Eries would make is that it would be unlikely for Tellot to have a first thought. But they had already spoken enough ill of their fellow delegates and Eries wasn't sure how much longer Alucier could hold out from teaching Nuri the Asturian method for mocking stupidity.

"We shall see, Princess," Nuri said. He didn't sound like he was expecting to be proven wrong.

Then again, Nuri never sounded like he was expecting to be proven wrong. Eries couldn't help but get the feeling that was because so far, he hadn't.

* * *

Author's Note: I realize boring old political stuff is a big change from the emotional roller coaster Allen and Eries have been stuck on. Don't worry, they're back in line and have their tickets ready for the next ride.

Orator!Van was a change, wasn't he? But then you can't be a political player just by being a mopey bishounen (else Allen would rule the universe).

Next up: Rattle and Hum (Okay, it's an album title but it's still U2) – The Caeli tournament opens. Eries has primo box seats and friends who don't mind taking advantage of that. Allen, Eries, Celena, Alucier and Revius crammed together in the same small space. Hope nobody says anything awkward.


	8. Rattle and Hum

Intrigues of a Princess

VII: Rattle and Hum

As the morning of the second day of the summit lurched on, Eries began to see the appeal of Meiden Fassa's plan. The task of scheduling the rest of the summit should have been easy. First, address the issue of Zaibach's military, then move on to how to handle Zaibach's people so they wouldn't get any more bright ideas about invading other countries. Basram's use of the Energist bomb would get tackled after that. Last but not least, the delegates would work to strengthen existing treaties. It was a simple, straight-forward agenda that took Eries all of five minutes to conceive. Sure, it could use some tweaking here and there, but nothing that would take more than fifteen minutes of rational discussion to hammer out.

Yet four hours after they first started talking, the delegates hadn't even settled on Zaibach going first. Everyone had their own ideas and every last one of them had to be spelled out in exacting detail. The sad thing was that if all the rhetoric and technicalities were stripped away, all of the ideas would look remarkably alike. Everyone conceded that Zaibach's military was the top priority - even General Adelphus - but it apparently wasn't official until everyone got to say so in their own words.

How much more efficient it would be just to tell everyone that this was what they were going to do and if they had any problems with that, they could shut up.

Eries blamed her grumpiness on being out of practice with the council. In her prime, a meeting like this would have passed in a blur. One time the council had wasted an afternoon arguing over where to put the Royal Seal on the new trade forms they had approved. Eries had passed the time half-listening to the debate while composing a letter to Marlene. To this day, that letter was the longest letter she had ever written in her entire life, but Eries had been able to walk out of the meeting without feeling the need to yell at a single person.

Despite the steadily increasing strength of that particular need at this particular moment, Eries resolved to stop thinking like Meiden. She believed everyone in the world deserved an equal voice. Just because some of those voices tended to ramble was no reason to toss out her world view. She had to remain firm, even if the Cesarians were determined to insert lengthy quotes from one of their country's renowned authors to back up a point that everybody had already agreed with.

At least when it came down to the actual voting, everybody was quick to say 'yea' and be done with it. It was resolved that the summit would proceed exactly as Eries had thought it should.

Eries refused to listen to the little Meiden voice in her head that kept singing 'I tooooold you so.' One morning of frustration was a small price to pay for world democracy. It was also an unrealistic price to expect to pay considering how many more days the summit would be in session, but Eries was trying to be optimistic.

She had good cause to be. Regardless of why Meiden had decided to hold it when he did, the start of the Caeli tournament had the castle buzzing. It was all anyone on the palace staff wanted to talk about. Guards traded shifts with each other so they could get free time to go watch. The handmaidens achieved record times in cleaning so they could leave early. The general good mood had been infectious too. The delegates, their earlier curiosity now at eager anticipation, didn't waste any words before going to the carriages parked in front of the Grand Hall, waiting to take them to the tournament grounds.

Nuri didn't even say a thing as Chid rushed to get the lead carriage.

Eries wasn't in a hurry herself. All the carriages would get there eventually and the tournament wasn't going to start without her. Nor would it start without two of the men who had already made it into the Order. The tournament couldn't properly open without the existing Caeli giving a demonstration of their talents. It wouldn't be too ostentatious – that display would come at the end – but it would be noticeable if there were only ten men on the field. With Allen obligated to stay at her side until Eries was safely in her seat and Alucier bound to do the same for every last delegate at the summit, Eries could afford to wait until the carriage traffic cleared up before setting off.

The only other princess in attendance at the summit lingered as well. For once, it wasn't to hang around Alucier. Marqesita was interested in talking to Eries.

"I take it my brothers and I have been keeping you entertained during the otherwise dull parts of the summit?" she asked. Normally a question like that would be accompanied by a smirk. Marqesita's lips only twitched slightly now. Either she was doing a poor job of faking good humor or a worse job of hiding the opposite.

Eries treaded cautiously. "I didn't realize I was being that obvious."

"We're the ones being obvious."

_Not obvious enough_, Eries thought as she tried to figure out what was wrong with her friend.

"I feel like we're putting on a comedy routine for the rest of the delegates," Marqesita continued. "We are a good little troupe of performers."

Sounding affable about the strife between her and brothers was more alarming than the snarling she typically sent their way but Eries didn't want to push Marqesita. "I'm probably the only who's noticed and that's only because I'm seated beside you."

"You're being charitable today. Not particularly convincing about it, but I appreciate the effort."

A silence that Eries was fairly certain Marqesita hadn't wanted settled between them. They watched the last of the delegates leave. Even after Alucier gave Eries the sign to get moving, Marqesita didn't stir.

Maybe a little push wouldn't hurt. "Is something wrong, Sita?"

"Of course not," she answered. "The summit's going along smoothly."

"That wasn't what I was talking about."

"Really? That's the only thing everyone else seems to be concerned about. Well, except for the Caeli tournament. Can't miss out on that."

"Sita…"

"I'm sorry," she said. "I'm rambling like those Cesarians."

"It's all right." Eries said the same thing to Alucier when he came over to check on why neither princess was making any motion towards the exit. He too sensed something was amiss with Marqesita but let himself be waved away by Eries. He trusted her to know what to do.

"We should get going," Marqesita said abruptly.

Eries wasn't about to move. "We have time. The hall's empty. Alucier and Allen are probably the only ones left outside."

She took Eries' advice and sat down next to her. "You're really worried, aren't you? And here I am, seeking you out then being all evasive. You see, my sisters are twelve and fourteen years younger than I am so I'm not really sure how this goes."

_Your sisters? _Eries was touched that Marqesita had implied such that there was such a bound between them. She was confused as to how to live up to that implication. The direct approach seemed to work best with Millerna. "Whatever you want to tell me–"

"You'll keep in the strictest of confidences," Marqesita finished for her. "You will promise me that."

"You have my word," Eries said automatically. She would have done it promise or no promise, but something told Eries that Marqesita needed the reassurance.

"I'll keep you to that. No one must know this. No one. You're not even to tell Alucier."

Whatever was troubling Marqesita ran deep. So deep, she had sought out Eries and then been unable to talk about it. So deep, she felt the need to swear Eries to secrecy. There could only be one explanation. As it dawned on her, Eries almost didn't want Marqesita to say it.

But she had to get it out. "We received the news early this morning. The messenger that delivered it traveled all night, taking one leviship after the other to get here as fast as he could. We couldn't just send one of our leviships or that might raise suspicions. We couldn't very well send a letter…"

"My father…" she whispered. "My father's dead."

0-0-0-0-0

Sharing the news of her father's death with Eries had relieved some of Marqesita's burden. She was back to her old self (or better able to put on the appearance of her old self) on the carriage ride to the tournament grounds. Her flirtation levels with Alucier were at an all time low but given the dizzying heights they had reached in the past, a restrained Marqesita still didn't come off as a daughter who had just lost her father or a princess with no one to call king.

Eries didn't begrudge the small bit of comfort being Marqesita's confessor had afforded the other woman nor did she judge the manner in which she was conducting herself. Eries had been in a similar spot not so long ago when her father had suffered his stroke. With Millerna missing and the country ill at ease with the memory of Zaibach's floating fortresses hovering above them, Eries had had to pick up the slack and become the socialite she had never been to keep Asturian appearing strong. The worst part of it had been the criticisms muttered between in-the-know handmaidens that Eries could dare to enjoy herself while her father lay ill. She hadn't enjoyed herself. Marqesita was surely not enjoying herself now. But duties were duties and a princess couldn't simply carry hers out, she had to carry them out with a constant grace befitting the crown – even when there wasn't a crown.

_Egzardia has no ruler. _The implications for the summit were enormous. So far the royal siblings had managed to stick together in regards to the image they wanted Egzardia to present. But so far, the summit had been introductory speeches and scheduling an itinerary. These weren't world shaking procedures. Those would come later. How far would their unity stretch then?

Eries didn't have the luxury of worrying though. She shouldn't even know Egzardia's king was dead in the first place. In the second place, she had her own problems to take care of. Egzardia's succession was not among them. There were third and fourth places too, and if a fifth if she got to thinking about it but she didn't want to put too much thought into it or else everyone would start to wonder why she was being so damn contemplative.

Marqesita had told her as a friend, not a princess. Eries had to respond in kind. A friend would do what she had to do to support Marqesita, not go off on personal political tangents. Right now, part of supporting for Marqesita consisted of pretending that nothing was wrong. Except for the triviality of one of the major nations of Gaea currently being kingless, nothing was. An exciting tournament was about to start. The skies were clear. Spirits were high. Allen wouldn't leave her side to join the other Caeli if he thought something was wrong with her and his sister was already seated in the Royal Box, frantically waving at Eries to come join her.

That last part was a bit off. Anyone outside of the king's family shouldn't be allowed into the box without being accompanied by a royal. Eries had had every intention of bringing Celena with her but that the girl had managed to get in on her own was odd. But this was Celena she was thinking about, so really it was typical of her. Eries still asked her how she had done it.

"You took so long to get here," Celena said.

Of course it was all Eries' fault. Willing to accept the blame just to hear an explanation, Eries prodded her to continue.

"I was waiting with Gaddes like Allen told me to, then that old guy from the Caeli came over and asked me if I was Allen's sister. I told him I was and he started talking about the tournament Allen won to become a Caeli and that got kind of boring because Allen already told me about it once and you know Allen's not the greatest storyteller and neither is that old Caeli guy. Like I really know what a 'Fen-a-ma-thingie' maneuver is."

"Fenamont," Eries corrected her. "He was a famous Caeli from a century ago. A lot of standard sword techniques were developed by him."

Celena was not impressed by this. Eries hadn't been all that impressed herself when Alucier had told her all about the swordsman, nor when his name had been brought up in countless breakfast discussions between the various Caeli she ate with. But she hadn't stared at Alucier or any of the others as if the very mention of Alton Fenamont was a trick to make her brain go numb.

"Go on, Celena," she sighed.

"Anyway, I figured old Caeli guy had to be that Lord Ramkin that Allen told me about, because, you know, he's _old_, so I asked him if he knew who was going to replace him yet. He tried to be vague and indecisive but I said he had to know already because you and Allen like Alucier so much and nobody likes the jerky red-haired guy. Then old Caeli guy got really flustered and said it was probably time for me to take my seat. I said I was going to sit with you, he said that was fine and had a guard bring me up here."

"So you annoyed him into seating you."

Celena blinked once, very slowly. Innocent as can be, she mused, "Hmm, I guess it did work out that way."

On the bright side, Celena hadn't tricked Lord Ramkin into climbing a tree. Still, some form of chastisement seemed to be in order, though Eries could only muster the energy to sigh Celena's name. The way Celena was acting, she would have had ample energy to ignore Eries anyway.

Instead, she was able to channel that energy into being impatient. "When's this thing going to start?"

"It should be soon, Celena. Nearly everyone is seated."

By everyone, Eries meant the delegates and other important officials. Each delegation had been led to their own private box from which to view the fights. In Freid's box, Eries could see Chid pointing down to the field while he and Kaja spoke rapidly and Nuri sat silently. The picture was nearly identical for the Egzardians, with Tellot standing in for Chid and Bennor and Marqesita filling out the Kaja and Nuri roles respectively. Her concern for the other princess flared again, but settled when Marqesita stirred and began talking to her brothers. It was nothing but an off moment of contemplation perhaps.

Eries scanned the rest of the stadium. The seats for the public were already overfilled, with many people milling around in isles. The Cesarian's box was in a similar state. Their delegation was larger than everyone else's but the cause of the crowding wasn't an extra Cesarian. It was an Asturian. Meiden Fassa was sitting front and center. He waved at Eries when he noticed she was looking at him.

"Who's that creepy guy waving at you?"

For once, Eries thoroughly appreciated Celena's blunt manner of describing people. "His name is Meiden Fassa. He's the head of the council and he's supposed to be sitting with us."

"If it's all the same, I'm kind of glad he's sitting over there."

Eries would have been too if she didn't suspect he was up to something. But what could he be doing? He was sitting in broad daylight along with half the population of Palas. He was hardly in position to conduct discrete business.

Against the more paranoid part of her judgment, Eries decided to agree with Celena and be happy that the afternoon would be Meiden-free. Allen, Alucier and Revius were going to join her and Celena once the Caeli were through with their opening demonstration anyway. She didn't want the box to be as crowded as Cesario's. Six people would be pushing it; they didn't need a seventh.

That's when it occurred to Eries that there would only be five. Millerna had yet to show. Eries again searched the other boxes, but didn't spot her. She couldn't imagine her sister missing this.

"What's wrong?" Celena asked.

"I'm looking for Millerna."

"Oh, right. Princess Millerna…" Celena dug through her pockets and produced a crumpled note. There was only a discoloration to mark where the wax from Millerna's seal would have been. "A guard came up and gave this to me to give to you before you got here. Sorry."

_Sorry that you almost forgot to give it to me or sorry that you've obviously read a letter addressed to me? _Losing her temper with Celena wouldn't get her anywhere though, so Eries unfolded the note and read it.

Millerna was going to miss this. She had elected to spend the afternoon with their father instead. Apparently, he'd had a very good day yesterday and Millerna wanted to work with him on the chance he'd get well enough to put in an appearance at either the summit of the tournament. Maybe both, Millerna speculated optimistically at the end of the note.

This was good news – the best possible news when compared to what Marqesita had heard of her father – but Eries was a little bothered by it. She shouldn't have to keep tabs on either her sister or her father via a note, especially when it came to something as important as Aston's health. Millerna could have dropped by her room to let her know.

It did work both ways. Eries could have taken a minute away from summit business to find out how her family was doing. The last time she had seen Millerna had been…she had to think. It had been at the ball, when Millerna was asking her about Allen and the dress Eries had been wearing and acting strangely in general. Eries had forgotten about that. Her own questions about Allen had completely pushed Millerna out of her mind.

She'd go see Millerna and Aston tonight, tell them about the tournament, catch them up on the summit. Making a mistake was understandable. Letting it go was not.

Eries hoped this first round of the tournament would go quickly. With a family visit now on her schedule alongside summit preparations, she was looking at a late night. If she wasn't out of here in a few hours, that late night could easily change into an all-night.

But if anything could match the swordskills of a Caeli (the younger ones, at any rate), it was the ability to put on an impressive demonstration in clockwork fashion. They lined up, ran through a routine of basic but flashy twists and thrusts of their swords and disbanded in a matter of minutes so that the tournament hopefuls could take over. Allen, Alucier and Revius were already taking their seats in the box with Eries and Celena before all the potential Caeli made it out onto the mock battlefield.

"Her Pinkness isn't coming?" Revius asked. Celena giggled at his nickname for Millerna. "If I knew we were going to have to extra room, I would have told Seclas. Make him jealous of us stretching out in luxury while he's crammed in a box with the rest of our unlucky brethren."

"Your spirit of generosity never ceases to amaze me," Alucier said to more giggling from Celena.

The girl seemed to be in one of her more hyper moods so, with a look Eries was accustomed to seeing from the many hours she'd spent with the Schezars, Allen indicated he'd like the princess to move down a seat so he could be next to his sister and better able to keep an eye on her. Alucier took the seat behind the resettled Eries. Revius managed to spread out in the two seats behind Allen and Celena.

Each participant was paired off with another while Lord Ramkin's booming voice explained the rules of the tournament. The initial matches would be one-on-one duels with practice swords. The first man to win two out of three duels would advance to the next round. The loser would become another spectator.

"Fight with valor. Fight with honor," Lord Ramkin instructed. Then he told them just to start fighting.

With a limited number of judges and a large number of entrants, half of the would-be Caeli were led to the sidelines to watch the other half complete their duels. That still left plenty for those in the stands to watch, almost too much to keep track. Revius was able to help provide a good guide to swordsmen to look out for; he had heard of a good number of the men fighting. Most of that knowledge had come from the uninvited Seclas, who had specialized in setting up training programs ever since being appointed to the Caeli and thus would have been an even better handicapper.

Seclas' commentary probably wouldn't have been as colorful though. "Okay, see the skinny blond guy with the huge nose right under the Cesarians? He's from a more backwater town than Alucier but apparently he's been the perfect soldier since signing up and trains his ass off. Guess he's got one of those 'Farmboy's Gotta Prove Himself' complexes going on, right 'Lucier?"

If Alucier's expression was any indication, Revius was not right at all. Allen seemed to fall on the incorrect side of the argument as well. He glared over his shoulder at Revius.

"What did I say?"

Celena hazarded a guess. "I don't think he liked you saying the word 'ass' in front of me."

Unlike Revius, Celena was very much right. Allen sputtered out a comment on proper young ladies and how they never, ever use something as uncouth as profanity.

Unfortunately for Allen, he was outnumbered two to one. Celena and Revius had very different thoughts on young ladies and their use of colorful language. Eries and Alucier were decidedly neutral in this conflict.

"It's not like it's that bad of a word," Revius argued.

"Eries heard it and she didn't get all excited. And she's a princess!"

"Eries doesn't use that kind of language herself!"

_That's not exactly true_, Eries thought. Off the top of her head, she could think of many times when she had used language much harsher than the word Allen was objecting to. Some of those times had been in front of Allen. Whether this was a case of Allen's selective memory or a 'Do As I Say, Not As She Does' sort of thing didn't matter. With neutrality came an option to keep her mouth closed. Eries gladly exercised this option.

"And you never use it, brother?"

"Heh, she's got you there."

"You're not helping, Revius!"

"Wasn't trying to, Allen."

Being neutral only meant Eries and Alucier didn't care _how_ the fight ended. They still wished it would end. To hasten things along, they began discussing – loudly – the other contenders. Alucier wasn't as knowledgeable about them as Revius but there was a familiar face in the crowd of fighters.

Alucier wasn't necessarily happy to see him. "Sedgewick has already won his two matches," he said incredulously.

"That was awfully quick," Eries replied.

It was extremely quick. Only a handful of duels had made it to their second match. Most of them were still on their first.

Revius' assessment of Sedgewick had been dead on. Rubbing that in was apparently more gratifying for Revius than provoking Allen. He stopped in the middle of a sentence that was to contain a list of words that weren't really cursing unless you were just too uptight to remind Alucier of what he had said the day the delegates had arrived.

"Congratulations, Revius. You must be psychic," Alucier said, trying to sound apathetic but not really hitting the mark. "Can you go back to the Mystic Moon now too?"

With the grace and dignity of the Heavenly Knights of old, Revius stuck his tongue out at Alucier. "Why do you care so much if Sedgewick is any good? He's not your replacement anymore, Allen is. And we all know how easily Allen can kick your ass."

Praise for his sword skills wasn't enough to keep Allen from glaring at Revius again. Celena giggled. Eries wondered if it would be rude to get up and leave for that family meeting early.

"Oops, sorry," Revius apologized. "I used the 'A' word. Feel free to flog me for the horrific offense."

"That's just one among many," Allen muttered as he turned back around in his seat to watch the tournament. He'd heard the expression 'Ignore something and it will go away' before and while common homilies weren't likely to apply to someone as uncommon as Revius, following the advice couldn't be worse than giving Revius more attention.

Celena gaped at her brother. "That was almost a joke…"

"Except it's _not_ funny because it's true," Alucier said.

"Oh, please. You all love me." Revius was absolutely sure of this. The lack of affirming replies wasn't dissuasive in the least. He chalked that up to Skinny Blond Guy with the Big Nose winning his second duel and being too much of a distraction.

The rest of the duels didn't proceed as rapidly. Celena was fidgeting in her seat before long and coming up with her own rules to make things go faster. "If Sedgewick and Blond Guy are obviously so much better than everybody else, why don't they have them fight each other and save a bunch of time?"

"It's more complicated than that, Celena," Allen answered. "They're both very skilled but it's not enough to simply possess skills. You have to be able to prove that you know how and when to use them."

"This isn't going to turn into another lecture on discipline and how I don't have any, is it?"

Allen had been planning to work that into the discussion but then decided to give his sister a break. This afternoon was supposed to be a nice outing with friends and family. He could recite from Dr. Atrineu's book later.

"It's also about the spectacle," Alucier added. "We are showing off for the rest of the world. You can't have much of a spectacle with two guys fighting for ten minutes."

"I don't know, Alucier," Revius said. "The fight between Allen and me during the tournament that he won his commission for kept the crowd pretty rapt all by itself."

That revelation was as enthralling to Celena as her brother's semi-attempt at humor. "You beat up Revius to become a Caeli? How come you and the old guy didn't tell me that? That's the only interesting part of the whole story!"

Interesting was a subjective term. So was the phrase 'beat up'. Revius had qualms with both. "He didn't beat me up!"

"One of us was standing at the end of the match and one of us wasn't," Allen calmly replied.

"I had one knee on the ground because I had ducked to avoid a high swing and then got off-balance when you came back swinging low."

"Actually, it was a mid-level swing. Don't you remember me resting my practice sword against your neck to force your concession?"

"Yeah, but that's just proof that I was stooping at the end of the match. You were making it sound like I was passed out in the dirt."

"That happened later at Allen's victory party," Alucier supplied helpfully.

"Hey, I needed consolation. And it wasn't like Allen was too stable that night either."

"That's how you celebrated?" Eries asked, sounding a little angry about it too.

No one in the group knew how to address Eries' sudden outburst. Revius, having a natural immunity to indignation, was the first one to take a stab at it. "How else did you expect him to celebrate?"

"I…" Eries stammered. She wished she hadn't said anything. She didn't know why she had. Allen's appointment to the Caeli had been years ago. How he had celebrated that appointment didn't mean very much now. That she and Allen had gotten into a fight right before he went off to drink and revel with his friends shouldn't matter. That one of the reasons why they had fought was because Allen felt neglected because Eries had missed the tournament to attend council meetings shouldn't matter. That the other reason they had fought was because Eries was angry at Allen for not realizing how much she had hated choosing between being on the council and supporting him and not realizing in general how much he meant to her shouldn't matter. But in a split-second all the old emotional baggage had mattered, and in that split-second, Eries had opened her big mouth. Getting it closed without dragging up the past was going to be a delicate procedure. "I don't think that's a particularly good example for a knight and an older brother to set, that's all."

Celena was the only one who didn't find something amiss with that answer. Revius knew Eries had to be lying or else he wouldn't be allowed within a mile radius of her. Alucier sensed there was something deeper going on but couldn't name it exactly. He remembered taking Eries to meet Allen to congratulate him on winning his tournament but then he had left them alone when the actual congratulations had taken place. As he thought more of it, Eries had been somewhat upset later, but being somewhat upset after talking to Allen hadn't been an uncommon thing with Eries back then and Alucier had never really thought much of it.

Allen was quite accurate in his guess as to why Eries would be bothered by hearing about his victory party. He didn't know that he was right yet though and wasn't really eager to confirm, especially not with an audience. He treaded as carefully as Eries. "Perhaps, under the circumstances, it was inappropriate."

"Yes, under the circumstances…" Eries repeated blandly.

"You have to understand that I was not fully aware of the circumstances at the time," Allen continued.

"But even with partial knowledge of the circumstances, I would think you would be more considerate in your actions."

"In my defense, my only partial knowledge of the circumstances contributed to my decision to spend the night as I did."

At this point, Celena leaned far back in her seat and whispered to Revius, "Are they speaking in code?"

Revius nodded. Celena was close enough. Knowing most of the back story between Eries and Allen gave him a rough estimate of what the heck they were talking about, but getting into specifics would involve interviewing key witnesses, drawing diagrams and sacrificing a good deal of his free time and even more of his sanity. Some of Alucier's mental health already seemed to be disserting him. He rolled his eyes and mumbled 'This was years ago' to himself over and over.

Eries was fully aware of how ridiculous she was being but that awareness wasn't translating into an ability to stop. She even started rationalizing her actions. _So much has come out by now_, she thought, _why not bring everything out and be done with it? _

That made sense, even if bringing everything out in front of family and friends in a very public venue was hideously illogical. But the sixteen year-old girl inside Eries who had spent that night agonizing over what had gone wrong with Allen while he partied the night away wasn't the most rational person.

"And what would have your decision had been if you had had full knowledge?" the older and wiser but not using that wisdom at the moment Eries asked.

"How can you ask me that?" Allen was genuinely confused. "I was upset with you because…I mean…" He faltered as he realized what he was about to say and who, other than Eries, was about to hear it. On his honor as both a knight and a friend, he wouldn't divulge Eries' secret. "We should talk about this later," he added weakly.

Eries herself had divulged that secret to both Alucier and Revius, but Celena didn't know. And Allen didn't know that Alucier and Revius knew. Eries hadn't quite gotten around to telling Allen about that. That would be another mess on top of the one Eries had created and was doing a poor job of cleaning up. 'Later' was a concept she could agree to.

"That would be a good idea, yes."

"So it's over?" Celena sighed. "Whatever 'it' was?"

"Over?" Revius snorted. "They've been having these not-yet-lovers quarrels for years."

Alucier Maerzen's main gift as a swordsman was his strategy – his ability to analyze his opponent's movements and guess what they would do next. He was not known for speed. He wasn't slow by any means, but he just wasn't as fleet on his feet as some of the other knights. Of course, few things on Gaea were as fast as Revius' mouth, so even if speed had been his forte, it was unlikely Alucier would have been able to get his friend to shut up. His only chance would have been to predict that Revius would say something stupid. In retrospect, that seemed like a no-brainer.

Alucier should have kicked himself in the shin as hard as he kicked Revius. Just kicking Revius was more satisfying though. Knowing that Eries was probably plotting a similar punishment made it sweeter.

"What did you say?" Allen demanded in a harsh whisper.

"Uh, me? I didn't say anything. I was watching the matches. You must be hearing things, Allen."

"No, I heard it too," Celena said. "You said 'they've been having these not-yet-lovers quarrels for years'. What did you mean by that?"

Revius shot her a 'I thought you were on my side before!' look. Celena countered with a 'This is more interesting' shrug. Eries glared balefully at him. Alucier was tapping his foot in warning.

Allen looked so thoroughly astonished and puzzled that Revius was torn between leveling with him and busting out laughing. He found a nice middle ground in feigning innocence (something which he had a great deal of practice doing because faking it was the only way Revius could ever hope to achieve innocence). "It's a joke, Allen. Lighten up. I didn't mean anything by it."

"Seems like a weird joke to make to me," Celena commented. She might not have had Revius' experience in affecting innocence, but she made up for it in natural ability.

"If it seems weird to you then it must be normal to everybody else," Revius replied. Even if from an objective perspective he could see why this situation was funny and how, if their roles were reversed, he might be the one verbally poking Celena with a stick, he still didn't appreciate how quickly she had turned on him. He would have held out for another minute or two – three if he'd been in a good mood.

"Eries and Alucier seem to think it was pretty weird too." Celena didn't need to include Allen. It was obvious from the way he was still gaping that he found Revius' remark to have surpassed the boundaries of weird.

"I can't account for the actions of my friends. In fact, I'm sort of marveling at why they are reacting the way they are reacting myself." Revius let the innocent act down for a second to indulge in a smirk. He was right about Eries and Alucier. They might as well as held up signs proclaiming 'Long, Involved Super-Secret Story Here' from the way they were carrying on. Some people just did not know how to be discrete.

Allen must have seen the truth behind what Revius said because he stopped looking at him and turned his head Eries-ward. "You know what he means, don't you?" he asked slowly.

Today was not a good day for the Ice Princess. For a woman known for not showing much emotion, she'd already been distracted by Marqesita's news, flown off the handle about something that happened six years ago and overacted to an offhand comment that could have been dismissed as Revius being Revius if she simply would have ignored it.

Going back to her earlier line of thinking, Eries decided to have it all come out. "Yes, I know what he means. And he means exactly what you think he means. He knows all about what we discussed the other night."

"Ugh, more code talk!" Celena whined.

Her brother made no response. He resumed gaping, only now with an intensity that made his earlier effort look like a apathetically brief glance.

"I'm guessing what you and Allen discussed the other night would be that thing you'd been keeping from him since…oh, Jichia, how long has it been? Anyway, Allen," Alucier confessed, "Um, I know too." He figured that much was obvious by now anyway but he also figured somebody had to say something and he was a far preferable option to Celena.

"Is there anyone who doesn't know?" Allen said finally.

Celena raised her hand. "I don't know. I think I would like to."

"This isn't really your concern, Celena," Eries told her. "It's not really anyone's concern anymore because Allen and I have talked everything through and nobody has any secrets or anything to hide anymore."

"So if nobody has any secrets then you can tell me what you're talking about!"

"No, Celena," Eries insisted. "I know you're Allen sister, but there are some things a sister doesn't need to know."

"Does that mean you haven't told Millerna yet?" Revius asked. "Because I would think that would put a crimp in the whole no secrets thing seeing that she is sort of involved. Not as much as Princess Marlene or anything but –"

"You know about Marlene too?" Allen exclaimed so woefully it came out as a whimper.

"If you don't shut your mouth right now, Revius," Eries barked, "There's going to be another opening in the Caeli to fill." Eries had wanted everything to be out in the open, but she hadn't meant _everything_.

By now, Revius had spilled all the beans that were available to spill. There were some jokes and sarcastic commentary left to be made, but he did not think these would be well received and followed Eries' command. Besides, Alucier was eyeing him with an intensity that promised that the next time he hit him with something, it would be the pointy end of his sword. You can take a knight out of his guard position, but you can't take the guard position out of the knight.

Celena readily picked up Revius' slack. "Marlene? He means Princess Marlene right? What does she have to do with what you and Eries won't tell me about? And does any of this have to do with the stuff Gaddes wasn't supposed to tell me about Princess Millerna? Allen?"

"Now is not the proper time for this, Celena." As far as Allen was concerned, there would never be a proper time for him to discuss his deeply entangled romantic life with his sister. If he said that outright, however, Celena would have spent the next hour arguing that point. He was only putting off the inevitable, but something had to be put off. He was processing far too much information as it was.

"So you'll tell me later?"

"I'll tell you what I think is appropriate when I think it is appropriate."

"I know what that code means: never."

Allen should have known the long odds of avoiding an argument with Celena. Cats were in awe of Celena's level of curiosity. Mules would bow down in recognition of her stubbornness.

Celena was not the only woman there with a strong will though. Inhaling deeply to gather her thoughts, Eries began taking control of a situation she never should have let develop. "Alucier, Revius, there are various food stalls set up outside the stadium. Celena looks hungry. Take her to see what she would like to eat."

"I'm not hun-"

"You're **very** hungry, Celena."

She was curious and stubborn but not stupid. Suddenly, Celena decided she _was_ very hungry, just as Eries had said. The power of suggestion could be strong, especially when the suggestion was delivered via snarling. "I did have an awfully small lunch today…"

With that cue, Alucier rose quickly out of his seat and got ready to drag Revius and Celena off with him if need be. "Come on, they're about to start the second set of matches. The food stalls will be crowded."

"Take your time," Eries instructed. She gave Alucier another, silent instruction with an arch of an eyebrow. Alucier interpreted the gesture to mean 'If Revius starts blabbering again, feel free to kill him'.

The trio gone, Eries and Allen were free to talk. They were also free to stare blankly into space while an awkward silence loomed between them. That was the liberty they took advantage of until Eries resolved yet again to be out with it.

"Yes, Alucier and Revius both know how I felt about you. They also know about your affair with Marlene, though I hadn't been sure myself how much Revius knew until now. For the record, I did not tell them a thing. They figured it out on their own and I only confirmed because, honestly, I needed someone to confide in. And before you start whining again about how they figured it out and you didn't, I'll remind you that they had the benefit of being objective observers."

The whining comment was a little mean, Allen thought. There was some truth to it, he admitted, but it was a mean truth. Eries was still upset. He was too, though now that he had had a while to let it sink in, the most distressing thing about Alucier and Revius knowing the whole story about Marlene and Eries was, again, how obvious it was that they had known. They had been his roommates when the affair with Marlene had gone on. Alucier had been Eries' private guard since before Allen became a Caeli. Among such a close circle of friends, some secrets were bound to be shared.

That's what they were to him – his close circle of friends. Old friends, too. He'd known all of them by the time he was fifteen and his twenty-second year was approaching. He'd spent a good third of his life with these people; actually _sharing_ that life with them wasn't a bad thing.

Sharing it with Eries had always been a good thing, even if he hadn't recognized it at the time.

"I'm not going to whine," he promised. "I'm just a little stunned. You have to admit Revius isn't the most graceful messenger. And Celena was sitting right there…"

"She's probably interrogating Revius as we speak."

"Yet another thing to deal with," Allen sighed. "But I am trying."

Eries gave him that credit and a little more. He was making this easy. "Here you are trying to handle Celena on your own, moving to a new home temporarily, having new duties temporarily-"

"Do you think it's only temporary? Being your guard, I mean. It's been a pleasant job so far."

"Really?" Eries smiled. "You don't miss the swamps or being chased all over Gaea by Zaibach forces."

"It must be the company I'm keeping."

Eries let herself be distracted by the announcement of the start of the second round. She had told Allen not to whine because that's what she expected him to do. It's probably what she would have done (except in her case, it would have been called lodging a perfectly logical and understandable complaint in a sensible manner). This little bit of flirtation caught her off guard – agreeably so.

She and Allen didn't speak again until Alucier, Revius and Celena returned, arms loaded with food. Celena had dibs on a disproportionately large amount of it, but there was enough left over for Allen and Eries to have a snack.

Alucier passed a skewer of grilled meat and vegetables to Eries. He took extra care so that none of the juices would drip onto Eries' dress and so that he could lean in and ask her how things had gone in his absence.

Eries whispered to him that he didn't have to worry.

"Allen seemed pretty freaked out when we left."

"He got over it."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive, though he did say something about plotting to kill Revius…"

"So everything is good. I just wanted to make sure."

"Yes."

"You'll tell me all about it later?"

"Assuming you'll have the time."

"Oh, I'll make time for this."

The second round of matches wasn't as awe inspiring as the first. Celena's plan to have Sedgewick and Skinny Blond Guy duke it out was increasingly looking like an accurate prediction for the final match of the tournament. The remaining hopefuls fought well, but even Eries could tell they weren't at the same level as the frontrunners.

They kept the crowd entertained nonetheless. Some of the entertainment was along the lines of Revius, Alucier and Allen picking out all of the mistakes the hopefuls made. Then the three would bicker over the best way to correct those mistakes. Celena yawned as the debates dragged on. The men did not stop. Celena yawned again, more loudly and dramatically, but to no better affect. She had never experienced the phenomenon of grown men turning into little boys when a sufficiently cool topic presented itself.

Eries had experienced it and was grateful that they weren't talking about guymelefs at least. Those conversations always left her so far behind, she might as well have been in another country.

The first day of the tournament ended with all the winners lining up in a row so the audience could get a good look at them. This served three purposes. The first was to merely acknowledge the victory they had won that day. The second and third purposes were for the audience. It helped the gamblers in the crowd place their (very unofficial and not sanctioned at all by the government of Asturia) bets. The unmarried ladies in the crowd used it as an opportunity to get a good look at what was available (also an unsanctioned activity but bound to be the only thing the handmaidens talked about for the next few days). Skinny Blond Guy was popular with the gentlemen, less so with the ladies. Sedgewick actually did well with both. More than one handkerchief was dangled in his direction in an attempt to win his attention.

"Eries, should we get out handkerchiefs too?" Celena asked when she noticed this strange mating ritual.

"No, there's no need for that," Allen answered quickly.

"But a lot of girls have them out…"

"You're not a lot of girls, Celena."

Revius nudged the back of Allen's seat with his foot. "You know, Schezar, I don't remember you being so disapproving of handkerchief waving when you and I were fighting in the tournament."

"Oh, wow," Alucier exclaimed, "I just had a vision of how bloody Revius' death would be if Celena ever waved a handkerchief at him."

Though the others laughed – if Allen's forced 'hah' could be considered a laugh – Celena remained confused. "It's just a handkerchief."

"In this context," Eries explained (because Allen didn't look like he was going to), "it means much more. You see, the ladies are waving the handkerchief at men whose favor they wish to curry."

"Oh, so if they think a guy's cute, they wave away."

"Basically." There was more to it than that, but Eries had had enough precarious conversations for the day to want to elaborate. Celena beginning to court a suitor promised to be a wild and awkward adventure – and that would just be dealing with Allen's reaction.

"You remember that one redhead at my tournament," Revius whispered slyly to Alucier.

_Yeah, I met her the next morning at the apartment_, Alucier recalled. With the mixed company in mind, he only nodded yes.

It was too late anyway. Celena's selectively good hearing had picked up what Revius had said. "What about the redhead? What did she do?"

Having learned his lesson, Revius went decidedly vague. "She had a very nice handkerchief, that's all."

"So why did you remember it?"

"Because it was special."

"Why was it special?"

Revius turned to Allen and Eries for help but he was on his own after his earlier performance.

"They were nice and silky, all right?"

"That's all?"

"They had little flowers on them too."

"Why do you keep saying 'they'? She waved a pair of handkerchiefs at you?"

Revius groaned because he was sick of the questioning and hadn't anticipated Celena being so observant. Allen groaned because he had figured out what Revius' redhead must have been waving.

Eries had worked it out too but gave no indication of this. This day with her friends had been eventful, with enough highs and lows to last her a week. Even if it had started with Marqesita revealing her father's death and was ending with Celena interrogating Revius about an underpants waving redhead, she considered it a good day. She had been able to console Marqesita. Allen knew what everybody else knew and no harm was done. Eries felt as if she had gotten a little closer to her friends. Maybe all of them had gotten closer to each other.

She hoped her meeting this evening with her father and Millerna would go the same.

Minus any mention of underpants, of course.

* * *

Author's Notes – Wee bit late with this one, but that's what happens when you leave the only copy of the chapter at work before a four day weekend. I'm resuming the monthly posting schedule for the foreseeable future, but instead of the last Monday of the month, it'll be the first Monday. 

Next up – Into the Heart: Aston family secrets and King Aston finds out about Allen's new job.


	9. Into the Heart

Intrigues of a Princess

VIII: Into the Heart

Eries was not surprised to find Millerna still with their father when she went to his quarters after the end of the first day of the tournament. Her sister and father, however, were surprised to see her.

"I thought you'd be busy with summit business," Millerna said as she busied herself with fluffing the pillows on Aston's bed. It was a pointless act. There were handmaidens to do that sort of thing when it needed to be done and right now, it didn't need to be done. Aston was seated comfortably in his favorite chair by the window and didn't look likely to budge until his bedtime. That would be some hours from now.

Eries hadn't expected for her family to shout in elation at her appearance. With the way her family worked, that would have been frightening more than welcoming. But she had expected more than her father gazing intently out the window at the courtyard below while her sister did light housework.

"No, not tonight," Eries answered with false brightness. "Things are still just getting started. In a little while though, I will be too busy so I thought I would drop by now when I had the chance."

"I guess that's why Meiden has been checking in on me so much," Aston said to a bird that had landed on the window's sill. "He figured he wouldn't have the time later."

At that moment, Eries would give anything to be back at the tournament, listening to Revius wax eloquent on her great love for Allen while the object of her former ardor sputtered incoherently and Celena begged to hear more. That wasn't going to happen. Neither, apparently, was the cozy family talk Eries had anticipated.

"I'm sorry, Father," she apologized. "I've been preoccupied and I thought Millerna was taking such good care of you… I know that isn't much of an excuse…"

It was hardly an excuse at all. But contrary to his peevish comment about Meiden, Aston was in a charitable mood. He waved at Eries to stop. "I know the business of running this country, Eries. I know what I've missed because of it too. I might not have been fully aware of what you were up to when you had me sign that writ giving you permission to address that council but I am now."

"I didn't mean to deceive you."

"I know. You meant to take advantage of my distraction," Aston said simply. Eries could only look at the floor guiltily. She wasn't looking for long. Aston continued by telling her, "You didn't need to do that. I would have signed the thing regardless."

Hearing that was a relief in more ways than one. Her father approved of her work and he wasn't holding it against her that doing it was keeping her away. That still left Millerna, who was still fluffing away, hell bent on making sure Aston had the softest pillows in all of Asturia. As king, that would be apropos, but Eries didn't really think that was Millerna's logic. She believed her sister's thought process was following an 'Avoid talking to Eries' path.

Why it was on that course was beyond Eries. Her father was being affable enough so Eries stuck to him. He might know something about Millerna's mood and, if he didn't, she had plenty of summit business to go over – giving him her take on events so far, running ideas by him, finding out what Meiden might have said during one of his frequent visits. Those sorts of things.

She started slowly. "It's good to know I have your approval to be back on the council."

"At least one Aston should be there," the king snorted.

Did that mean her father wasn't thrilled by the notion of Meiden running everything? Or was it a lament that he had spent too much time away from his throne? Eries could see both being true, but then her opinion on Meiden was decidedly lower than her father's. That gulf was akin to the distance between the Mystic Moon and some bottom-feeding slug that lived on the ocean floor.

Not that Eries actually thought Meiden was a bottom-feeding slug or anything.

Briefly considering the comparison put a light smile on Eries and put a little cheer into her prediction that Aston might soon return. "From what I've been told, you've been making a lot of progress. It shouldn't be long now until you're able to take back the council."

Aston wasn't as optimistic. "Yes, I'll cut an imposing figure shambling into the council chambers only to collapse into my chair and wheeze while I regain what strength I have."

"You're being too hard on yourself," Millerna finally spoke.

Eries kept out of the argument. The sad fact was she didn't know one way or the other how her father was really doing. That was Millerna's area of expertise. She wanted to hear what her sister had to say. She wanted to hear her sister say something period.

"I'm being realistic."

"Fine, then let's examine the reality. You had a stroke. It was a lot milder than we initially feared, but it was still a stroke. Now let's look at your recovery. Mentally, you're as sharp as you ever were. Physically, well, to be blunt, you never were in good shape and that's a lot of the difficulty, but how far were you able to walk last month before getting tired? How far can you walk now? How much time do you spend in bed then compared to now?"

Aston glared at Eries as if it was her fault Millerna had developed the ability to out-argue him. Maybe it was her fault. She and Millerna had put in a lot of practice over the years.

"Recovery takes time," Millerna continued when she was sure she had won her case. "It's only been a few months. Give yourself the same amount of time and then see where you are. You're just being grumpy because you missed the tournament today."

Eries smiled. "I didn't realize you were so keen on going, Father. Is swordfighting a secret hobby of yours?"

Aston's glare shifted to Millerna as his youngest daughter began snickering quietly. The look was for show. Aston wasn't afraid to admit he enjoyed a good bout as much as the next man. And Eries had been there. She knew how much the next man enjoyed the fights.

"I remember back when the Caeli were simply appointed for their status," Aston said. "About the only thing they could coordinate back then was a good party. It was disappointing to know our once fabled Knights didn't know a sword from their backside."

Whatever had been bothering Millerna was forgotten as she joined in with Eries in teasing their father. "So that's why you reinstated the tournaments? Not so the Caeli could reclaim their former luster but so you could watch the sword fights?"

"If I was only interested in the entertainment value, I would have stuck to letting them throw parties," Aston groused, again more for his daughters' benefit than because he was truly complaining.

"I had no idea you were so interested in the tournaments," Eries said. "I know you went to watch Revius' everyday but you didn't even attend Allen's once."

There were so many things in that one little sentence that made it a completely moronic thing to say. None of those things had occurred to Eries as she said it, but with her father and sister staring at her as if she had slapped them, they all came to her in a rush.

_Stupid, stupid, stupid. _Why would Aston have attended the tournament when Allen had been so widely predicted to win? His dislike of Allen wasn't as intense back then as it was now – over the years it had evolved from a pithy disdain to a long and involved disgust – but Aston would hardly have waived a handkerchief at the knight-to-be. He would have been on the lookout for Eries doing it though. And he would have had his stroke six years earlier if he had known Marlene hadn't just been waiving but giving out her handkerchief.

They had been joking. Millerna had stopped fluffing the damned pillows. _Why_, Eries thought, _for the second time today, did I have to open my mouth and say the one thing guaranteed to bring all conversation to a halt?_

She had been able to discuss Allen individually with Millerna or her father, but Eries was hard pressed to recall a single instance when he was discussed openly amongst the entire family. All three of them knew about Allen, Marlene and Chid. Eries had spoken to Millerna about it. Eries had spoken to her father about it. What Eries didn't know was if Millerna and Aston had spoken to each other about it and if they had, whether or not any of Eries' involvement in the mess had been brought up.

From the chill that had quickly settled into the room, Eries guessed she wasn't the only one who was playing Who Knows What and Who's Going to Bring It Up First?

Neither Millerna nor Aston was vying to be the one to do it. Aston went back to window gazing and Millerna suddenly discovered a pillow that had escaped her ministrations.

_I am not seriously contemplating this_, Eries told herself. She repeated the phrase to reinforce it. That didn't do much good. All the tiny reasons she had for respecting the semi-taboo status Allen Schezar had achieved with her family paled in comparison to the two big reasons that had only just presented themselves today: one, Allen finding out what Alucier and Revius had known had, if anything, brought them closer and two, Marqesita and her siblings would never discuss anything at all with their father again.

That bothered her the most. Aston was recovering nicely, but that was no guarantee his family had years upon years to sort through their problems. Look, for example, at the woman who was at the center of their secrets. Marlene had been fine in one of her letters, suffering from a slight illness in the next. Then a messenger had shown up and told them Marlene was dead.

If she was still alive, Aston might tell Marlene today that he didn't care what she had done. But she wasn't, and Marlene had died with the memory of her father angrily demanding the truth while she hid it from him under threats of violent retribution from her new husband.

It wasn't but a few days ago that Aston had refused to see Chid out of guilt. How many times more would he refuse? Had he done the same with the boy's mother? Who, ultimately, would have been hurt more by that?

"I think we should talk about…certain things," Eries announced. Gathering courage, she clarified. "About Marlene. About Allen Schezar."

"Eries," Aston responded in a low tone, "We've talked enough about him. And I know Millerna has definitely heard enough about him."

"You don't know just how much, Father," Eries informed him. "She learned the truth about Chid while in Freid. Didn't you, Millerna?"

"I…" Millerna tried stalling by setting the pillow she'd been working back onto to bed, but her hands wouldn't cooperate. Her mind was too confused with wondering what Eries was trying to do here.

"We all know, Millerna. There's no reason why we can't talk about it like a normal family."

"Gods," Aston huffed. "Where in the world did you get the idea that we're a normal family, Eries? And when did you decide we should go digging into each other's business? We're royalty. Our secrets aren't mere fodder for gossip, they can shake entire nations. Go tell Chid what you want to say and then tell me I'm wrong."

"Other nations aren't here, Father. It's just the three of us."

Aston considered how to convince Eries of how foolish she was being. The quickest way, he concluded, was to give her exactly what she wanted. "All right, Eries. Just between the three of us, Allen Schezar is the father of Marlene's child. There, I said it. What exactly did you think that would accomplish, besides making your sister hyperventilate?"

Millerna was looking flushed by this turn but Eries kept going. Stopping most likely meant never starting again. "I want us to be able to discuss this. I want us to be able to deal with this in case it does get beyond the three of us. Chid's no fool. He looks like Allen. He remembers all those stories Marlene told him about Allen. When he gets older and more knowledgeable, you don't think he's going to put those two facts together?"

"One day, he probably will. But every day that passes between now and then is a day he spends as the ruler of Freid. It is a day he learns of and respects his duties. By the time he learns about Schezar, it will mean nothing to him."

"How can you say that?" Millerna whispered, barely breaking her silence. "Allen's his…"

"Mahad dal Freid is Chid's father. Ask anyone, including Chid."

"I'm not so sure about that," Eries said, thinking of the vague comments made by Nuri en Freid.

"What are you talking about, Eries?" Aston demanded. "I haven't told a soul about Chid and I thought you would have the sense to follow suit."

"I would never betray Marlene like that!" Eries was angry that her father could think her capable, especially since _he_ had told Meiden about the affair. That incensed her enough to call him on the hypocrisy. "Although someone must have considering there are certain merchants that seem all too aware of what went on."

"Certain merchants? If you're referring to Meiden, he doesn't know, not for a fact at least. He's hinted around it and had his suspicions but I always denied them to him. I never confirmed a word."

That did not make sense. Meiden was carrying on as if he did know it for a fact. The only person who could have given him that fact was his good friend Aston.

Except that wasn't entirely true. Eries had assumed that her father had told Meiden because that was the most logical explanation and hadn't bothered to think of any other sources of information. A sudden reemergence of her paranoia told her that she should start bothering.

She might as well start with the man who knew Meiden best. Aston had a force behind his words that led Eries to believe him when he said he hadn't told Meiden about Marlene outright. But he could have slipped once and said just enough for the merchant to figure it out. "Father, the impression I've gotten from Meiden is that he does know. I don't think he would have said some of the things he's said if he were only acting on a hunch. Is there any way you could have –"

Aston looked curious as to what some of the things Meiden had said were, but he needed to assuage his daughter first. "I did not tell him, Eries."

"I believe you, however –"

"No, Eries!" Though he was nearly shouting, there wasn't the same conviction behind it as there was in his other denials. That wasn't due to doubt however. It was due to the reason why he had never told Meiden the full truth about Marlene. "I learned my lesson after I told him about you and Schezar. I was never going to make that mistake again. I've been friends with Meiden since we were children but I will not have him disparage my daughters."

Eries could have given her father a novel's worth of disparaging remarks Meiden had directed her way. She wouldn't do it as it would only rile Aston and take the conversation off course. She wanted to get to the bottom of this.

Millerna was not of the same mind. She wasn't of any type of mind really as she contemplated what Aston had just said. "You told Meiden about Eries and Allen," she repeated blankly. "What was there to tell him about Eries and Allen?"

Aston laughed bitterly. "You wanted to talk, Eries. Looks like you'll be doing plenty of it."

It had come out after all. Revius wasn't even around to blame for it. Eries had supposed this was going to happen sooner or later. Her vast preference for later had made her put it far out of thought. It didn't look likely that she'd be able to shove it back there.

One never knows until one tries though. "It's nothing, Millerna. You already know Allen and I were close friends in the past and we're close friends again. There's really not that much beyond that."

"I wish I could believe you…"

Eries was startled. "You wish you could believe me?"

Aston buried his head in his hands. "I told you no good could come of this."

Eries ignored him and addressed her sister. "You can believe me. I have never lied to you about Allen."

"No, Eries, you never lied, but you never told me the truth either. You've been friends with him for years, close friends, but I only found out about it a little while ago. You knew about Marlene from the very beginning, but never said a thing. All the times we argued about Allen, you could have settled everything just by telling me the truth, but you held out. I can understand keeping Marlene's secret, but yours?"

"I told you we were friends, what more do you want?" Eries already knew what that was. She also knew that despite her insistence on openness, she wasn't quite ready to give Millerna what she wanted.

Millerna looked between her father, who was cautioning her with a weary shake of his head to let it drop and her sister. She wasn't as good at reading Eries as Eries was at reading her, but she knew enough to sense her reticence. Millerna thought that might be because she shared it. From when she had first learned of Eries' friendship with Allen, she had wondered if there was more to it. She had wondered if there had been something deeper behind Eries' warnings about her own feelings for Allen than the concern of a big sister. She had wondered what Eries would have said if Millerna had been able to summon the courage to ask her the question that was resurfacing now on her lips.

Millerna wasn't going to wonder any more. "What went on between you and Allen? Were you in love with him?"

Eries had expected the question, had braced for it. That didn't blunt the shock of hearing it said aloud. It didn't make answering easy. "Millerna…"

"Yes or no? I think I deserve to know. You felt free to tell me time after time what you thought I really felt about Allen. Why can't you admit your own feelings?"

Eries had been angry with her father for his perceived hypocrisy. Having her own very real double standards pointed out to her put her in a worse temper. That she had been the one to insist on having this discussion to begin with was the bitter icing on a sour cake.

But she also understood why Millerna felt as she did, could even see why she felt she deserved the truth. From the sounds of it, she'd guessed at it already and was really only waiting for confirmation. No harm would be done by giving it to her; withholding it might set the sister's relationship back to what it had been this past spring. This fight, just a few minutes old, was too much of a reminder of the bickering and mistrust that had existed between them.

It was almost funny how effortlessly she'd told Allen. Afterwards, things hadn't been as simple but the actual confession hadn't been that bad. Facing her father and sister, however, Eries had trouble repeating the feat. It wasn't that they'd both be justified in uttering an 'I knew it' once she finished (though she worried that once Aston knew he'd been right all along about her feelings, he might start thinking he was right all along about Allen's character). It was…it was as if she were on the verge of breaking some intangible barrier. Today wasn't the first time her father had told her the Astons weren't a normal family. He saw the distinction as something that made them special, as if they were somehow beyond the need to be open and honest with each other.

Eries disagreed with that view. At least, she had always said she disagreed. That was the spirit with which she had opened this can of worms. Shoving them back in would prove otherwise, if she could even get the can resealed.

"Fine. You want the truth, I'll tell you," Eries breathed. "We were just friends, but at the time I did want to be something more."

"You loved him," Millerna stated.

"Yes. I was in love him."

Aston sank back in his chair. "Good god, girls. Are you trying to give me another stroke?"

"I'm not trying to hurt anyone, Father," Eries argued. "I'm trying to put a stop to all the secrets between us."

"Sometimes things are a secret for a good reason."

"And sometimes they aren't! Maybe if I had told Millerna about my feelings for Allen, she wouldn't have pursued her own. Maybe it would have been the same with Marlene."

"Or maybe it wouldn't have made a damn bit of difference because Schezar is such a shameless bastard he would have just kept going until he got what he wanted."

"What?" Eries stared at her father. Either his opinion of Allen was worse than she thought or he had an incredibly naïve view of his daughters. The endearing qualities of the latter didn't stop her from disabusing him of that notion. "Allen never pursued any of us."

"You expect me to believe that with his reputation? With what he did to Marlene and the way he led you and Millerna on?"

So his opinion of Allen was worse than expected _and_ he had no idea what his dainty daughters had been up to. Eries delivered an education of both matters. "Marlene went after him. Don't you remember the act she put on to get him appointed as her private guard? She manipulated you into letting her have Allen and the villa all to herself. The only thing Allen ever asked of me was friendship. I was the one pining after him. And I think we all remember Revius' Caeli ceremony when Millerna wore the single tightest dress ever sewn in the history of Asturia."

"Oh, well," Aston shouted back. "Now that you've pointed all that out I can see what a hapless victim Schezar is. Why he's as innocent as a saint. I think the first thing I'll do once I'm back on the throne is bequeath him a title – Allen Schezar, Patron Saint of Would-be Virginal Males If Only They Could Say 'No' to Those Evil, Wanton Women."

"Will the both of you stop!"

Eries and her father complied with Millerna's demand, albeit momentarily for Aston. "Don't you start defending the bastard either," he cautioned.

"I'm not defending anyone, Father. I just want to know what went on. I want to know what everybody's been hiding from me."

"Would you settle for why we've been hiding it from you instead? Or should I send for some handmaidens and they can give testimony on their various experiences with your pet knight so you can figure out how much I've been trying to protect the two of you on your own?"

"Father…" Millerna fell speechless.

Eries was more than ready to pick up the slack. "I'm not going to pretend that Allen's a saint. I have never had such a delusion. I've spent far too much time making excuses for his mistakes to be able to deny their existence. But he's hardly a devil either. And your daughters aren't innocent little simpletons who got led astray by the bad, bad man. We've made mistakes. We've made wrong choices. That's what I wanted us to talk about tonight. I thought we could deal with each other as people, not kings and princesses."

"And to think," Aston said, "so many girls dream of being princesses while all my girls seem to want to be anything but."

"That's not fair, Father."

"No, Eries. It's fair. It's the truth. None of you ever truly accepted your duties. You did them but not out of choice. Marlene didn't want to marry Mahad. Millerna didn't want to marry Dryden. And you, Eries, never even had to marry anyone."

"But I did marry Dryden," Millerna protested. "And he's the one who chose to leave, not me."

"Why did he leave, Millerna? Yes, somehow he grew up in the Fassa household and yet still learned to put his conscious above his profit margin, but don't tell me he also didn't learn to think long term. He's doing all this to prove himself, to make you realize how lucky you are to have him for a husband. I've seen the letters he writes to Meiden. He never states it outright, but it's there, Millerna. It's right there on the page. He married you out of duty too, but he loves you out of his own heart."

Millerna looked away, tempted to return to pillow duty. As it was, she could only muster the strength to utter weakly, "I can't help how I feel, Father."

"You never even tried to feel anything else," Aston sighed. "You see, Eries, I'm not completely delusional about my daughters. Neither do I think it is completely fair for your lives to be controlled by your station. But that's how it is for you. That's how it was for me and your mother. But Therese and I didn't feel damned by our duties. We learned to embrace them, to let ourselves be happy to do them. Your mother was the daughter of the richest landowner in the country and any man that laid eyes on her would swear she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. You've seen portraits of me at your ages. Therese could have had any man in all of Gaea, but she got me. She was happy with that. Never once did I feel she was with me out of obligation. Never once did I doubt that she loved me as I did her. I'll admit I was lucky to have her. There are a lot of political marriages out there that are nothing but hollow oaths and curt civility. But there are those that are not. That's what I wanted for you girls. Mahad was a good man. Dryden is a good man. I'm sure, somewhere out there, there's a good man for you, Eries. But you girls were so busy lamenting your duties and your lack of choice, you never even considered the best choice was right in front of you."

Eries had heard her father claim his priority in marrying off his daughters was their happiness. Never had he mentioned her mother in that context. Naturally Aston and Therese's union had been politically motivated. But Eries, precocious as she was as a little girl, had never perceived it that way. Her father had grieved horribly, to the point of physical illness, after Therese died. He never married again, never considered it despite the numerous options he had available to him and a council that was keen on presenting the advantages of exercising those options.

Millerna had never known her mother; she'd been a baby when Therese died and the rest of her family hadn't been free with details on the woman. Getting this brief glimpse of her made Millerna take her father's words to heart. "I know Dryden's a good man, Father. I saw that when we spent so much time together on the Crusade. I know how he feels about me too. He's not subtle about the things he wants."

"But you don't love him, he's not a good man _for you_ and so on and so forth," Aston supplied. "I understand your excuses, Millerna – just as long as you don't drag Schezar into it – I really do. I want you to understand what I'm telling you now. If you stop looking at Dryden as an obligation, he might stop being an obligation. I hope Marlene learned to understand that about Mahad before she died."

"I think she did," Eries volunteered, "if her letters were any indication. I don't what she wrote to you, Father, but in mine, over the years, I could tell she was coming to love her life in Freid. I think she loved Mahad."

When Aston turned to his middle daughter, Eries thought she could see a rare trace of wetness in his eyes. "She said that to you?"

"Not in so many words, but as you said with Dryden, it was there, right on the page. She never told you –"

Aston shook his head slowly. "She never told me much of anything. I don't think she ever forgave me for how I treated her on that visit to Freid. I was so damned determined to figure out Chid's paternity, I isolated his mother."

Eries wasn't so quick to reassure her father this time. Marlene had never brought up the harsh fight she'd had with Aston, either to say how mad she still was or to say she'd forgiven him. Eries didn't know what was sadder: her earlier thought that Marlene had died wondering if her father was angry with her or if she had died angry with him.

All that served to do was reinforce that Eries was right to press her family like this, so she continued. "Does knowing that she did come to love Mahad change what you thought of her?"

"For pity's sake, Eries! You make it sound as if I had condemned her for a harlot!"

"I was there for that argument you had with her. I remember how you accused her…"

"I was trying to convince her to tell me the truth!" Aston sputtered. "I never meant to judge her. I _didn't_ judge her."

"You judged Allen instead."

"Gods, back to him again." Aston waived a dismissive hand at Eries for broaching the Allen topic again, but he didn't spit out any vitriol against the knight.

That was new. Eries sensed she had come close to the truth of the matter. Just a little more digging… "Is that why you hate Allen so much? So you can blame him for all your daughters' mistakes? So you can keep a perfect image of us?"

"I told you I wasn't completely delusional about you girls." Returning his gaze to the window, he started to add more, but could only finish by shaking his head.

"Father," Eries pleaded, "I want to know what you truly thought of Marlene. I want to know that you can acknowledge what she did and still love her."

"That you have to ask me…" But Eries did have to ask him and Aston knew the blame for that fell squarely on himself. "Of course I still love her. She was my daughter. There's nothing she could have done that would change that. There's nothing the two of you can do either. You understand that, don't you? Tell me you do!"

In all honesty, Eries wouldn't have been able to say one way or the other before tonight. Millerna had felt the same. Neither spoke their answer, but Millerna crossed the room to Aston's chair, where she bent down to embrace him. Eries bowed her head in reverence of the gesture.

Aston was always awkward with overly sentimental displays. He tried to make this the exception to the rule, but the most he could manage was to smile at Eries and tell her, "I suppose you're feeling a bit smug now about making us go through all this."

Eries returned the smile. "It feels good to be right," she said mildly.

"You're not right about everything. No one is," Aston insisted. When Millerna finally released him from the hug, he took a moment to consider. "Not even me. I won't repeat this upon pain of death and if you think of repeating it beyond this room, I'll have you branded as madwomen who were obviously hearing voices, but maybe, just maybe, there's a small possibility that there could be something to your theory about Schezar. You'll never convince me he's the golden boy you two seem to think he is, but there is a chance that he's not entirely to blame for the way you girls have acted where he's concerned. He's still responsible for every stupid, thoughtless, selfish thing he's done in regard to you girls–"

"We get the point," Eries said.

Aston arched a brow at Eries but that was the only challenge to her assertion. As far as he was concerned, they'd spent enough time on the Caeli. He didn't need to go another round with Eries about him. He was curious why Millerna had seemingly let the matter of Eries' relationship with Schezar drop though. Just a few months ago, Millerna was pledging her love for the man to anyone who got within hearing distance. Now, she was hearing all about his sordid past with her sisters and not doing very much about it beyond her initial questioning of Eries. As much as he would like to believe otherwise, Aston doubted it was her marriage to Dryden that had caused Millerna to take the subtle approach. She had matured this summer, not turned into a sagely old housewife.

He'd take what he could get. Eries might be more infuriatingly logical in her defense of Allen Schezar but in the past, Millerna could outdo her in plain persistence (and volume) once she got started. Aston had no desire to see if that had changed as well.

Before either of his daughters could broach the subject again, Aston decided to redirect them. He knew getting Eries going on Meiden was a cheap tactic, but its high effectiveness made it too good to pass up. And he really did want to know what was going on. He and Meiden went back far enough that even as he called the merchant a friend, Aston was still aware of the depths Meiden could and would sink to to get what he wanted. He was also aware of the type of things Meiden was wont to want. His cheerfully bland summit reports had an aroma of details selectively presented and big pictures obscured.

Eries' insistence that Meiden knew about Chid had dinged an alarm as well. Aston wasn't shocked that Meiden had guessed the truth. He was shocked that he was expressing it to Eries. Meiden wouldn't do that just to make conversation.

"If you're satisfied that we've dug through our family history enough, Eries," Aston began, "I would like to hear how the summit is going. You can spare me the summary that will pass for news on the street. I want what's really going on."

"I thought Meiden was keeping you appraised?" Eries asked coyly. She pegged her father's sudden interest on the summit as a way to shift focus off of Allen. She was resigned to falling for the trick anyway because she really did want to make Aston aware of what Meiden Fassa was attempting, but by asking she was at least letting Aston know that she knew what he was up to.

Aston gave her that ground. "Come on, Eries. I know you don't like Meiden. I'd like for you to elaborate on why that is."

"Maybe I should leave the two of you alone to discuss this," Millerna suggested. It was her pseudo-father-in-law that was about to be raked over the coals from the sound of it. There were some things she didn't want to hear about people.

Aston felt she needed to hear though. He asked her to stay. "He's my best friend, Millerna. I don't want to think the worse of him either, but it's not good to hold delusions about people." If Aston had been feeling snider, he would have added, 'Case in point, that Schezar bastard we were discussing earlier'. But Aston was on his good behavior (and still sick of hearing about the aforementioned bastard). "Go ahead, Eries."

Eries gave them the gist of the situation, repeating the bigger points of the talk she had had with Meiden a few days ago. She kept her conspiracy theories on the saner side, offering tame speculation that Meiden might be exploiting connections to other countries to aid his cause instead of documenting every last conversation the merchant had had with the Cesarians.

Millerna was lost by the scope of it. "He doesn't really think he can get all of Gaea under Asturian control, does he?"

"If anybody could, it would be him," Aston mused. The hint of admiration in his voice caused Eries and Millerna to stare at him in disbelief. "The man's good at what he does, you have to respect that."

"I might respect his skill more if he applied it to nobler pursuits," Eries huffed. "Please don't tell me you think his scheme is a noble pursuit."

"You're asking the king of Asturia whether or not he thinks it's a good thing for Asturia to expand her power?"

"Father!"

"It's not as if we wouldn't be benevolent rulers. We'd have to be. All that empire building would stretch our resources out and it's easier to control the content than the angry."

"Father!" That time it was Millerna voicing her outrage. Eries was too flabbergasted to speak. She was beginning to understand why her father and Meiden were such good friends.

"I'm only speculating," Aston said defensively. "A good ruler explores all of the paths before him."

"There are some paths that are too dangerous to be explored!" Millerna argued.

Aston continued with the metaphor. "Only if you travel down them blindly without any means of turning back."

"I think," a recovering Eries said slowly, "That by its very nature, this particular path requires a person to do exactly that. Meiden's turning a blind eye to the desires of the rest of the world while potentially putting Asturia in a position that cannot be explained away on good faith should the rest of the world not be as blind as we being."

"Oh, there is that," Aston conceded. "Which is why, despite how tempting the alternative is, I'm inclined to agree with you. All of Gaea is on edge now because of Zaibach. Intricate political maneuvers might be mistaken as an act of aggression."

"They might be _mistaken_?" Eries coughed.

"Oh, all right. They are an act of aggression. But in peace times, we rulers are too polite to call them that. You're supposed to say you're 'in negotiations' or 'reassessing current policies'. Don't call a spade a spade. That upsets people."

For roughly the thousandth time in her life, Millerna was grateful her interests were in medicine, not politics. Her field cured people of their illnesses, helped them get back on their feet. It didn't cynically manipulate them with double talk and a paternalistic attitude.

Millerna knew there were more altruistic rulers. She always thought of her father as one before the whole business with Zaibach started. She'd come around to that belief again after realizing why Aston had done what he had done. Her faith that Eries was in that camp had never wavered.

Eries tried to live up to that standard. "I really don't care what you want to call it. I just want Meiden to forget his plans and focus on being the 'benevolent' kingdom we're supposed to be during the summit. Now that you know what he's up to, Father, you can tell him to stop."

"Can't you handle him on your own, Eries?" Aston asked.

Eries exhaled sharply. "He's your friend, not mine. You're not willing to talk to him?"

"You're the Aston at the summit, not me. You're not willing to execute your royal duties?"

Millerna was as confused as Eries. "Wouldn't that be easier for her to do if she had your help?"

"Easier? Yes. Better? No. There's more to getting your way as a king than saying 'Because I said so'. There has to be force behind your edicts or else you give your opponents an opportunity to come up with a way to ignore them. I've seen you in action in the council, Eries. You can handle the average councilman. Now you need to move on to someone more challenging."

"You make it sound as if you're testing me." Eries did not want to contemplate why.

Unfortunately, Aston was in an explaining mood. "What did I say about being realistic? I'm damned lucky I can walk and even luckier that I regained my speech as quickly as I did. Tonight's the most I've said and done in months and I'll probably pay for it by sleeping in until dinner tomorrow. It's going to be some time before I'm back at the throne, if I can go back at all. In the meantime, our prince regent is out on a quest to prove himself with no set deadline. Millerna – I'm sorry, but it's true – doesn't have the head for politics. That leaves us with you, Eries."

"Pity Asturian law disagrees with you. I can't rule Asturia on my own."

Aston laughed. "I'm not asking you to. As long as I'm around you can serve as my proxy. If you can't handle Meiden though, I'm not sure what sort of proxy you'll make."

So he was testing her. Eries supposed it had been too much to ask that her father would be completely sentimental tonight. Running a country wasn't a sentimental business.

Still, Aston's open support would have come in handy. Eries needled her father just to let him know. "Fine, I'll deal with Meiden on my own. No matter how many cheap tricks he uses against me or how many conspiracies he's involved in, I deal with him all by myself. Of course, if everything goes wrong and Asturia becomes more hated than Zaibach, I think I'm entitled to come back to you and tell you 'I told you so'."

"I'm not worried, Eries. Tell me though, what are these 'cheap tricks' that Meiden's using? You mentioned that you thought he knew about Marlene. If he's slandering any of you girls, then I will get involved with that."

"Nothing publicly," Eries answered. "Even in the private meetings we've had, he was very careful with his hints and denials. He knows exactly how far he can walk on the line without crossing it."

"That sounds like him. He's damned useful when negotiating trade contracts and the like. I just never expected to be on the receiving end of his wiles." Once again, Aston seemed impressed with his friend, thorn in Eries' side that Meiden was proving to be. The admiration didn't last long as Aston thought more about what it would really be like on the opposing side. "I would like to know where he's going with Marlene. He knows a betrayal of her would be a betrayal of me, of the entire country. He'd wind up more disgraced than she would ever be."

"True," Eries commented quietly. She knew Meiden wasn't interested in exposing Marlene's secrets. He was interested in letting Eries know he knew the Aston girls weakness right before assigning said weakness to guard duty.

Eries was going to go out on a limb and believe that Meiden hadn't informed his old buddy about Allen's new employment opportunity. She wasn't willing to go out on a limb and tell Aston about it herself. A tiny (almost measurable if you had a small enough ruler) amount of progress had been made in changing his opinion of Allen. Eries would have hated to cause a regression.

She did hate it when Millerna accidentally triggered it instead. "Do you think it has something to do with Allen becoming your private guard?" she asked sincerely. "Meiden had to be the one to appoint him."

Eries gave her sister the benefit of the doubt and assumed that Millerna was only trying to work out the Marlene question by tossing out theories and seeing if one stuck. It wasn't her fault that that was the dumbest possible way of doing things in this instance.

"I must be getting very tired from all this talking," Aston said. "I think I hallucinated Millerna saying that Allen Schezar is now your private guard."

Too late, it occurred to Millerna that this information would not be well-received by all who heard it. She tried to fix the damage, perhaps none too gracefully, but she did try. "That was…umm…the rumor that I heard from a handmaiden. But you know how gossip travels in the palace. A rumor starts in the east wing and by the time it gets to the west wing, it's completely different."

"Yes, Millerna, that's an interesting theory on the dynamics of palace gossip," Aston said impatiently. "Can I hear the truth now?"

Dodging the question would make the situation seem to be more than what it was, so Eries answered him simply. "Because of the tournament, the replacement for Alucier can no longer serve so Meiden picked the next available option. Since Allen's been on leave to tend to his sister, he was the only Caeli without a current post. That's all there is too it."

"That little weasel!" Aston exclaimed.

To put it mildly, Eries found it bizarre to be repeating Meiden's argument as if it were the most sensible thing in the world while her father denounced the merchant as a weasel. At least, she thought Meiden was the one being called a weasel. If Aston had meant to insult Allen, he would have used a harsher term or used an adjective with more kick to it than 'little'. That's how he usually did it.

"I've already told Meiden what I thought of his strategy and how ineffective it's going to be," Eries said. "There's no point in becoming upset."

"Of course not, Eries. After all, it's not as if you spent most of your teenage years pining after that bastard while telling me I had nothing to be upset about. And what did you say not so long ago, standing right there? Ah, yes, you said you used to be in love him." Aston threw up his hands in frustration. "No point in becoming upset – I can see perfectly why I should take your word for it."

"You should take me word for it because it _is_ my word. I made mistakes in the past, but I learned from them. I'm being completely honest with you now. I'm being completely honest with myself."

Millerna had held her tongue earlier when Eries had finally told the truth. Hearing the confession of what she only let herself suspect in her darker beats of her heart had been enough at the time. Her family was on delicate ground, don't disturb it, she had told herself. But Millerna's suspicions didn't just cover the past. If not for certain actions in the present, Millerna might have been able to let the past remain unexplored.

She was tempted still to keep things that way, but Eries' own words urged her to go on, to say what she had wanted to say – all of it.

"Really?" Millerna asked hesitantly. "You're being completely honest with yourself when you say you no longer have any feelings for Allen?"

_Oh, good god, _Eries moaned internally, _I'm about to get a lecture on Allen from Millerna._

Eries' daily irony intake had gone far past maximum. She was going to put a stop – a very firm stop – to all of this. "I told you I was. And believe me, I've spent a lot of time thinking about it recently. I've talked about it to Allen. I've been talking about it to Alucier since the beginning. Now I'm talking to you about it and frankly, I think I've said everything that can be said without getting extremely repetitive."

"Isn't that sweet? You and Schezar have been little heart to heart talks," Aston intoned sarcastically.

Millerna ignored him. "That's what you say, but I saw how you were the other night at the ball. You came in on his arm wearing that dress…I know how I used to act around Allen. Seeing you do the same…"

"The same! You think I was acting the same as you?" Eries found that concept to be more insulting than she probably should. She definitely reacted to it more strongly than she should. "I didn't follow Allen around like a love-struck fool. He escorted me to the ball because I happened to be at his house before the ball and I wore that dress because it was the only one available, not as a cheap trick to seduce him."

"Girls, for the love of Jichia!" Aston shouted. "Don't talk that way about each other! Eries, please, what is she going on about?"

"It's nothing, Father. I was running late for the ball the other night because I was helping Allen settle into his temporary home. To save time, I borrowed one of Encia Schezar's old dresses and Allen agreed to come with me. He didn't care for the idea of me walking about Palas alone at dusk any more than you do. Then I did the same thing I always do at those things."

"But you didn't at all," Millerna insisted. "You stayed the whole night through and danced with everyone-"

"Yes, everyone, not just Allen as you always tried to do."

"That doesn't sound like you, Eries," Aston concluded with a long sigh. "You're not the type of woman who puts on a pretty dress and changes into somebody else entirely. You're also not the type of woman to lash out at your sister like you just did for no reason." Sighing again, Aston reluctantly continued. "Is there something to what Millerna's saying?"

"This is ridiculous," Eries said. Clearly, she was the only one who believed so. Her sister and father were watching her with a wary expectancy – as if they had already reached their own conclusion and it was only a matter of time before Eries joined them.

_They just don't know me well enough_, Eries thought. She admitted it that was mostly her own fault. If she had spent the time with her family that she had with her friends, they wouldn't be having this fight. Allen understood. Alucier understood. Even Revius…

"_They've been having these not-yet-lovers quarrels for years."_

Revius didn't count. The way he was, he always interpreted a situation in the worst way possible, even if it was only to get a good joke out of it. Yes, that's what that comment was, a joke. Revius had even said so.

"This is ridiculous," Eries repeated. It wasn't for her family's benefit this time though.

"Eries?" Millerna asked hesitantly.

"It's late. I think we've talked enough. Father needs his rest."

Aston conceded Eries' point. On Millerna's, he just shook his head again.

Millerna mimicked the movement. "You have an early morning tomorrow; you should go, Eries. I can help Father get into bed."

Eries bade them goodnight. She wasn't comfortable leaving things the way they were, but she was even less comfortable staying to work them out.

* * *

Next up: 'Tryin' to Throw Your Arms Around the World'. More political junk before we dive back into the personal junk. Meiden plays Mr. Nice Delegate while Eries tries to pry her mouth off the floor.

Ya'll might want to check out my livejournal or the Eries shrine soon. When I can get my scanner to stop being fiddly, I'll be putting up more artwork from Sakura: our gang at the tournament, insanely cute chibi style!


	10. Tryin' to Throw Your Arms Around the Wor

Intrigues of a Princess

IX: Tryin' to Throw Your Arms Around the World

It would only be fair, Eries thought, to say that she was running late for the summit because she had overslept if she had actually managed to get more than a few brief clutches of sleep during the night. Also in the interest of fairness, one could only say that the sleepless night had been caused by making preparations for the summit if she actually had comprehended the reports on Zaibach that she had stared at all night.

Nonetheless, that's what she told Allen as he hurried her through the palace halls en route to the Grand Hall. Sort of. Her words were garbled from talking while simultaneously devouring a muffin that would serve as her only nourishment until the summit broke for recess around noon. That raised the philosophical question if someone was truly lying if no one could understand a damn word they were saying.

She had meant to read the reports. A good delegate would be up-to-date on the state of Zaibach's military and trade. A good delegate would know how to limit the first and exploit the second to the highest degree all while keeping Zaibach complacent but weakened.

A mediocre delegate, on the other hand, would skim the reports while her mind wandered elsewhere and refused to return. A mediocre delegate would have to be woken up by loud knocking at her door in the morning with ink from the reports smudged across her cheek where she'd been resting her head against them.

At least she hadn't drooled on them. Too much, anyway.

Allen didn't seem that interested in her excuses anyway. His priority was getting Eries where she needed to be, not the reason why this was proving difficult. Eries was grateful for his fixation to duty. Recapping for Allen the conversation she had had about him with her sister and father would have merited stuffing the whole muffin in her mouth while she 'tried' to talk.

It wasn't so much what they had said. The accusations coming from Millerna was a change but they were the same basic accusations Aston had been lobbing at her for years. She should have dealt with them easily. Eries' definition of 'easily' did not, on reflection, include making insulting comments to Millerna about her past actions or being so snappish in general. Those actions all but guaranteed that no matter what Eries told them in the future, it would be greeted by Aston and Millerna nodding their heads and thinking to themselves, 'Sure, Eries, whatever you say'.

It was a stupid trap to fall into. Eries could normally avoid them without any effort. Millerna was the one who'd get caught up by her attitude undermining her cause.

"_That's what you say, but I saw how you were the other night at the ball. You came in on his arm wearing that dress…I know how I used to act around Allen. Seeing you do the same…"_

Eries choked on a bite of her muffin. It had nothing to do with recalling what Millerna had said, nothing at all.

Allen came to an immediate halt to check on her. Most people in the hall did upon hearing the second princess begin hacking as if she were coughing up a lung.

"Are you all right?" Allen asked.

"I'm fine," Eries said through gasps for air. "I can walk and talk…or walk and eat…but not all three…at the same time."

Eries joking was almost as strange as Eries choking to the onlookers. They quickly shuffled away.

Allen was steadfast. "Are you sure? You seem…distracted."

"I nearly choked on my breakfast, Allen. Give me some leeway."

"I wasn't talking about that. It's not like you to oversleep for something so important."

"I told you I had a late night reviewing trade reports."

"Yes, I know what you told me."

Allen let the implication hang in the air while he gestured for Eries to continue their walk to the Grand Hall. Eries moved without comment, as did Allen who fell into step behind her. He was a perfectly unobtrusive guard. A person could have forgotten he was there by how little noise he made, though he weighed heavily on Eries' mind precisely because he was being so quiet.

"Is there something you wish to ask me, Allen?" she said when they approached the doors that led to the entrance of the Hall. Once past those, they would have to be on their most professional behavior and wouldn't be able to talk for hours.

"I already asked you if you were all right."

"And I gave you a response."

"If that response had been satisfactory, do you think I would be repeating myself?"

"If you don't believe what I tell you, then why don't you tell me what you do believe?"

"As her majesty commands."

His arch formality could be attributed to the small crowd comprised of other straggling summit attendees. Eavesdropping wasn't likely to be on their minds but it was best not to tempt them. Allen steered Eries towards the windows where the fewest people were gathered.

"You were in such good spirits when we left the tournament," he whispered to her. "And now this morning, you look like you hardly slept and I can't get a word out of you that isn't an excuse."

"Pardon me, but since I look as if I hardly slept because I did hardly sleep, I think you can understand if I'm not in festive spirits."

"I just wanted to make sure you weren't still upset about anything that happened yesterday."

"Whatever would make you think I am?"

Allen stared at her as if challenging her to say she was being serious. "When is the last time it took you more than reading something twice to comprehend it and commit it to memory? I saw those reports lying on your table. They would have taken you an hour, two at the most, to get through. They're not why you didn't sleep last night."

Allen's newfound, and annoyingly accurate, observation skills had picked an inconvenient time to kick in. Eries did not have time for this, not now at least. Lord Poniard had appeared by the door to announce the start of today's session and request that those who had not already done so to please take their seats. He was very polite in his wording, but the underlying message was that everybody better get their butts in there.

"We have to go, Allen."

"But first –"

"We have to go!" Eries looked at him. His concern was genuine as were his intentions.

Her seat was close to the door. She could slide in on time even if she waited a few more seconds. "But first, yes, you're right. I had something on my mind. I spoke with Millerna and Father last night and it…It didn't go as I expected. I'll tell you later."

Allen's concern deepened. "What did you speak about?" he asked slowly.

"We –" Eries didn't go any further. Her seconds were up and even if they hadn't been, she wasn't the only delegate about to make in at the last possible moment. Chid and Kaja rounded the corner and nodded briefly to her and Allen as they hastily headed into the Hall.

Eries' abrupt silence at their appearance was the only hint Allen needed to guess at the answer to his question. "We'll talk later," he concurred.

o-o-o-o

Eries' late arrival did not provoke a response from Meiden. He barely registered her arrival at all. His concentration was on a familiar set of papers. Meiden's copies of the Zaibach reports were covered in notations. He had a journal open across his lap to jot down the remarks that were too long to fit in the margins of the papers.

By leaning back in her seat and out of the corner of Meiden's eyes, Eries could read these notes at her leisure. Most of them were straightforward, practical plans that Eries wouldn't have any trouble justifying. A few of the notes pertaining to Zaibach's trade came across as greedy, but that the worst that could be said of them.

Eries was, nonetheless, not terribly reinsured.

On the other side of the Hall, General Adelphus sat making notes of his own. Eries would have loved to get a glimpse of what his reports said, but as spying (or being caught spying) was a big no-no for a diplomat, she knew that wasn't going to happen.

She would hear them eventually, though possibly not today. By lottery, Cesario was going to present their plan for Zaibach first, other nations would then follow with their own. Zaibach would respond only if one of the demands was deemed unacceptable outright. Despite Adelphus' strong words to open the summit, Zaibach wasn't in a position to be ruling out too much of anything right off the bat.

That was what Eries believed before the head of the Cesarian delegation read off his list of demands. The first one was sensible: the decommissioning of all remaining flying fortresses and a ban on constructing new ones. Adelphus had to know the people of Gaea never wanted to see a shadow of one of those monstrosities fall upon their land ever again. The second one was harsher and likely to result in some debate. Zaibach could maintain a fleet of leviships, but they could not have any military capabilities. The design specifications for new ships would have to be approved by foreign committee to ensure that Zaibach complied. All the old leviships would be inspected and if found wanting, would be sent to the scrap yard.

Adelphus was ready to speak before the third point could be read. His military discipline wouldn't allow him, though it got a good testing when the Cesarians continued.

All Zaibach guymelefs were to be destroyed. They would not be allowed to construct new ones, not even industrial models that were used for construction. The Cesarians feared that these could be too easily modified.

Then they went into trade matters. Zaibach wouldn't be allowed to import any metals used in guymelef construction. That these same metals were used to build the supposedly permitted leviships, not to mention the buildings Zaibachan people lived and worked in, didn't seem to be a point of concern for Cesario. Perhaps they thought the destroyed fortresses, ships and melefs would provide ample material to be reused. Or maybe they didn't care.

Regardless, they were only four points into their plan and Zaibach's military had already been crippled. Things weren't looking up for their industry either. It was a far cry from the plan outlined in Meiden's notes and Eries wondered what was going on. If Meiden was in league with the Cesarians, shouldn't their plans jibe better? Shouldn't they jibe at all?

The situation became even more confusing. The Cesarians started to announce point five but were interrupted when Meiden stood up and respectfully suggested that points one through four should get a thorough analysis before continuing. The Cesarians were taken aback briefly but murmurs of agreement from the other delegates forced them to concede.

Meiden asked for permission to speak first as he was the one who had given the initial suggestion. After a few seconds and no objections, he said exactly what was on Eries' mind. "I understand the Cesarian delegation's wish to ensure that Zaibach does not repeat its mistakes by taking away the means with which to commit them, but I'm afraid the stipulations they've made are too punitive. Restrictions on the military shouldn't be so all-consuming that they become restrictions on the citizenry. We want to foster new relations with Zaibach that will dissuade future military action. The only thing I see being fostered here is resentment."

Again, the delegates murmured their agreement while the Cesarians exchanged defeated looks. Eries stared at the back of Meiden's head.

She had read his notes, not the other way around. So why was he sounding so much like her? Hadn't he told her that they could do whatever they wanted with Zaibach because they would be so sycophantic and conciliatory? Of course, that prediction had been proven wrong on the first day of the summit when General Adelphus had been anything but.

Meiden must be changing strategies to compensate. Adelphus may have been bluffing, hoping that the type of reaction Meiden had had would buy them time and give them some slack to work with. It was a good maneuver, even if it later came out to be nothing but bluster. Bluff or no bluff, Eries agreed with Meiden's approach. Being overly aggressive wasn't a good way to go about it. Let Zaibach show its cards one by one during negotiations and then lay stakes according to the clearer picture. If Zaibach really had nothing, demands could be made with more confidence, more daring.

Meiden was shrewd enough to know this. Why were his Cesarian buddies being so obtuse?

Meiden sat back down to give the Cesarians time to respond. They countered with the notion that it was best to start with a strong foundation which could then be scaled back or built upon as necessary. Meiden commented that foundations too set in stone could be difficult to work with, especially if one of the work crews abandoned the jobsite out of disgust.

His metaphor drew some mild chuckling among the other delegates. Meiden was winning this one, easily too. Adelphus no longer looked as if he was about to pack up his tools and leave the Hall.

_Meiden's being almost too effective_, Eries thought, _the Cesarians too weak and demanding. But then that could be the whole point. Are they setting themselves up as the bad delegates so Meiden can be the hero? Do they think once everyone believes he's the fair and rational one, they'll start believing everything he says?_

It wouldn't be the first time such trickery had been employed. It was usually used on the public though. Other politicians would be well-versed in it themselves and not likely to fall for it unless further trickery was involved. But the summit was young and, in Eries' paranoia, Meiden was capable of just about anything.

He was playing innocent for now. When Van Fanel started giving his own opinion of Cesario's plans, Eries took the opportunity to question – and slightly provoke – Meiden.

"When did you become an advocate for Zaibach?" she whispered.

"If you can't see what I'm doing then you don't really deserve to be sitting at this table," he whispered back.

"You're doing what I would have done if you hadn't spoken up first. I find that somewhat ironic considering our previous discussions in which it was clear you and I had very different goals for this summit."

"You're confusing methods with goals, Princess."

"So now you're going to play friends with Zaibach?"

"Friends? Not quite, but you know the saying: 'Keep your friends close and your enemies even closer'.

Eries mentally measured the small distance between her seat and Meiden's. "Yes, I'm familiar with the concept."

Meiden chuckled and went back to his routine, whatever Eries thought of it be damned. Fanel was all for the ban on flying fortresses and limitations on leviships. He stopped short of banning all types of melefs, suggesting that they could be subject to the same scrutiny as the leviships.

Meiden agreed that this was an excellent suggestion. Fanel nearly snarled at being praised by the merchant, but checked himself and delivered a curt 'thank you' instead. His personal feelings could not take priority over his diplomatic responsibilities.

It was a lesson other delegates could stand to learn. Bennor stood up at Egzardia's table without consulting his siblings and voiced his concern over the difficulty of enforcing restrictions versus instating a full-on ban. "We're going to be devoting a great deal of resources to ensuring Zaibach's compliance as it is. A talented engineer could not only modify a melef, they could keep those modifications hidden from all but the most thorough inspectors as well. It's not so easy to hide an entire melef."

Actually, Zaibach could hide an entire melef quite easily. They could hide entire giant fortresses too. That was what had made them such a dangerous enemy in the first place. The stealth cloak technology that had made those feats possible would definitely wind up on the chopping block but a complete ban on melefs might provide an impetuous for Zaibach to attempt a surreptitious rescue.

Eries hadn't even opened her mouth before Meiden took it upon himself to point this out to Bennor. Marqesita was kind enough to thank Meiden for presenting such a well-thought out point. It pained Eries to hear Marqesita complimenting Meiden, though not as much as it pained Bennor. His left hand was clenched into a tight fist under the Egzardian table and out of sight unless someone happened to be sitting at just the right angle.

Eries was that someone. She watched the fist shake noticeably as Bennor conceded the duplicitous uses to which a stealth cloak could be put. "I submit that we should make the complete elimination of that technology – the devices created, all designs drawn – our higher priority than the fortresses and melefs. All of our regulations will not mean a thing if Zaibach can sweep their violations underneath an all-encompassing rug."

"You needn't worry," Adelphus said. Even the most patient of men has a limit to how long he can keep silent. "Our ability to produce the cloaks died with Strategos Folken. They were his creations; he was the only one who understood them. They might as well have been magic for how well we understand how they work."

"One man developed those _things _all on his own?" one of the Cesarians questioned. "I find that hard to believe."

"It is a fact, regardless of how easily you come to accept it," Adelphus answered. "The Strategos was a brilliant man."

Adelphus' matter-of-fact appraisal of Folken Fanel's abilities had caused Van Fanel to grow reflective even as the other delegates murmured that it was inappropriate to praise the inventor of a device that had been used to cause so much destruction.

Others were not as respectful of their siblings or standard summit proceedings. Bennor was not satisfied with Adelphus' assurances. Marqesita thought he should keep it to himself until the subject was formally broached. Tellot sat quietly between them, somehow dwarfed by his shorter and slimmer siblings.

Eries was about to intervene but once again Meiden jumped at the chance to be the Voice of Reason. "Prince Bennor does present valid concerns. I'm sure a number of us share them. However, I believe Princess Marqesita is correct in stating the need for following a point of order. We had agreed to discuss Cesario's first four demands before proceeding, did we not? I'm afraid we've gotten off track. So let us remedy that by beginning our discussion of the decommissioning of Zaibach's floating fortresses, shall we?"

Meiden said the final sentence in such a way that it could technically be considered a suggestion but the other delegates took it for the directive that it truly was. If they were annoyed by Meiden's presumption, they let it pass in appreciation that they could get down to business. Bickering about tangents could have wasted the whole day. It wasn't as if anybody was going to forget Zaibach could make their melefs and ships go invisible anyway.

No one was ever going to forget that.

Bennor took the slight rebuke gracefully. He insisted that Meiden be the one to lead the discussion since he obviously had a keen grasp on the proceedings. A tinge of bitterness seeped through the compliment, but whether it was directed at Meiden or Marqesita was debatable. Egzardia's eldest princess was looking smug about her victory.

That wasn't a good sign as far as Eries was concerned. Marqesita was usually a vision of professionalism when acting the role of diplomat. The ribald free-spirit that could bring men to their knees with a playful parting of her lips would be replaced by a reserved woman whose powers of persuasion came from the words that came out of those lips. True, she wasn't above letting bits of her flirtatious nature come out to drive her points home to stubborn male opponents, but that was all about business, not pleasure. Personal emotions were not part of Princess Marqesita's political game.

At least they hadn't been before this summit began. She'd been arguing with her brothers from the start. They'd kept most of it among themselves, Eries only being privy to it because of her close proximity to them. To openly contradict Bennor and then just as openly celebrate Meiden taking her side was an acceleration of hostilities that would not go unnoticed. The other delegates would start to wonder what was going with the Egzardians, why they weren't unified. They were supposed to be representing the will of their king, after all. Enacting the sibling rivalries between them meant nothing compared to following the orders of their ruler.

And therein lied the whole problem. There was no ruler to issue orders, no one to unite them. But if they wanted Egzardia to be a force at this summit, the three needed to learn how to fake it.

Ultimately though, as much as Eries wanted to help Marqesita in that regard, she reminded herself it wasn't her place to do so. Egzardia's political strife was for Egzardians to resolve. She'd been disgusted with Meiden's desire to interfere, she couldn't try to do the same no matter how much purer her motives would be. The best Eries could do is keep Meiden from picking up the suspicious behavior and figuring out it was time for him to get involved.

At present, he appeared too distracted by playing his role as Arbiter Apparent. He was, infuriatingly, doing a good job of it. While Eries had been distracted pondering the succession problems of a country other than her own, Meiden had been showing everyone why it was a very good thing that Asturians were in charge of the summit.

The Cesarians went back into outlining their draconian restrictions, but, after some subtle coughing from Meiden, decided to slow down and revisit a few of them with slightly toned down the rhetoric that translated into slightly toned down demands with a bit of additional prodding.

"Perhaps we should discuss the possibility of a few industrial model melefs being allowed," the lead Cesarian admitted. It was a graceful concession, one that would have earned the delegate much respect. But then he kept going before Meiden could make a sound. "Granted, Zaibach avoided the need to do too much rebuilding by taking the war to foreign soil so it could keep its home front safe but we can't punish the citizenry for the crimes of the military."

Whatever ground the Cesarian had gained with Adelphus on the first part of his statement was long gone by the time the second part was finished. The general had already taken accountability for his and Zaibach's actions. Partaking in childish blame games was beneath him, beneath the entire summit.

Meiden agreed and gracefully circumvented the start of such games while not being too harsh on the Cesarians. "While it is important to keep Zaibach's past aggression in mind, our focus now is the present and the future. It might be more productive to limit our commentary."

"Yes, of course," the Cesarian semi-apologized. "We shouldn't lose sight of our goals here." The delegate started again, this time without any jabs in Zaibach's direction.

It was all very smooth – no hard feelings, right back to business. It was how a well-handled negotiation should go. Years of hammering out business contracts had prepared Meiden for this; it shouldn't be a shock that he was rising to the occasion.

But it was to Eries. She couldn't place her finger on why though. Even if she wrote off his disagreements with the Cesarians as a good delegate/bad delegate ploy, even if she bought his excuse of keeping an eye on Zaibach, even if she admitted Meiden was doing of a good job of keeping all the delegates in line, she was still bothered by how the morning was unfolding.

She was the only one. There hadn't been any extra shots at Zaibach tucked into the remainder of the Cesarian's speech. Bennor had settled down at the Egzardian table and was taking notes, much like everyone else in the hall. Even Adelphus sat in watchful silence. Nobody would be jumping up at their tables on Meiden's watch.

Barring the exception of Eries, if she could rile herself from the stupor Meiden's performance had induced in her. It was starting to look as if she might have lost to Meiden before she ever had a chance to fight him.

As the Cesarians' brought their case to a close, a workable agreement sounded within the realm of possibility. Other delegates had to chime in with their own suggestions, each round of advice skillfully guided by Meiden. The summit finally recessed shortly after one. It would have broken at noon but the delegates were so keen on wrapping up the final terms of Cesario's point number one that they were willing to put off lunch – per Meiden's suggestion. As it was, they could go to their meals knowing that the morning had been very productive indeed.

In case they forget, the broad, beaming smile on Meiden's face was the perfect reminder.

Eries did not feel up to breaking bread with her countryman. Whatever food she could have choked down her throat would have had a hard time staying there. Instead, she found Allen and together they found Alucier. Marqesita then found the three of them and expressed her opinion that the most wonderful place to eat would be the place furthest away from the Grand Hall.

They couldn't go too far. The summit would resume in an hour. That did give the foursome plenty of time to go to Eries' quarters. The privacy this set-up offered was also appealing.

And necessary. Marqesita insisted that both Allen and Alucier go down to the kitchens to fetch the food. The two knights found this odd but an unspoken signal from Eries sent them on their mission. Eries had a feeling she knew why Marqesita wanted to be alone with her.

No sooner had the tails of their overskirts disappeared around a corner than Marqesita began venting her own frustrations with this morning's proceedings.

"Can you believe Bennor? Standing up and making demands without any regard to anyone. What was he thinking? The jerk might have had a point but didn't he realize that point wasn't the _youngest_ son's to make?"

"Maybe," Eries inserted when Marqesita paused to breathe, "He didn't think Tellot could make the point."

"Anyone who's known Tellot longer than five minutes would know that he couldn't make the point," Marqesita seethed. "But anyone who knows anything about politics would know to write down the damn point for him and then pull on his strings until he recited it. Bennor's already trying to take a place that's not his. He just couldn't wait."

Marqesita continued to vent. Eries let her. She hoped that among the ranting there might be more clues to the mystery of why Marqesita might be ineligible for Egzardia's crown. Bennor's behavior and his sister's reaction to it had stirred Eries' curiosity. In one sentence, Marqesita had declared that the crown wasn't Bennor place. In the next, she had implied he was merely being impatient to assume his place. It should be one or the other, unless the question of Egzardia's succession really was so convoluted, the country's potential queen couldn't even figure it out.

That would be extra incentive to keep quiet on the death of the king. It should also be extra incentive for the three siblings to be on their best behavior. Eries decided it wouldn't exactly be prying to remind Marqesita of this.

"As aggravating as Bennor is being," she carefully interrupted, "you really shouldn't let him get to you. His speaking out of turn can be written off by the other delegates as a personal character flaw. You arguing with him could be taken as a signal of deeper trouble."

"You're one to talk," Marqesita huffed.

Eries assumed that outburst was Marqesita to taking her anger out on Eries. It was more beneficial than taking it out on Bennor while the summit was in session, but Eries still thought it was unwarranted. "Pardon me?" she prompted.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean it." Marqesita reconsidered. "That is, I didn't mean to bring it up."

That wasn't much of an apology. Eries voiced her disapproval with a curt 'ahem'.

"But since I have," Marqesita continued, "I'll just say that you and your co-chair don't come off as the best of friends. I'm not saying this to offend you but with that Fassa man seeming to have seized the moment this morning to become the de-facto leader of the summit, there could be trouble in store."

First her father expected her to bring Meiden to heel all on her own, now Marqesita was criticizing her for failing at it. It felt unfair but it wasn't far from Eries' own assessment of this morning's events. The fact was that it was completely on the mark, tempting as denial would be. Eries couldn't recall a single word she had said the entire morning, if she had said any at all. The only voice coming from the Asturian table had been Meiden's.

"You're right," Eries conceded. "I let Meiden walk all over me this morning."

"I wouldn't have said anything, but I have my own interest in seeing Fassa marginalized."

Eries started to ask what that interest could be, then felt stupid as she remembered what Marqesita had told her about the Egzardian succession – specifically the part about Bennor being in contact with Meiden. She'd been so preoccupied with Meiden's connection to the Cesarians, she'd been neglecting the other conspiracies he had brewing.

Too paranoid? When dealing with a man like Meiden, Eries needed to keep her paranoia levels up and her eyes and ears open.

She needed to watch for opportunities as well. That's what Meiden would do. Alliances here, secret dealings there. Sprinkle in the disarming amount of charm and leadership he'd displayed and he'd find a way to have every last delegate eating out of his hand. That is, if he hadn't found one already.

Eries needed to pick up her pace. She had an opportunity of her own hanging before her now. It was just a matter of embracing her inner weasel to take it.

Cold logic was a good starting point. She and Marqesita were friends. They shared basic philosophies. They shared goals. They shared enemies. If Eries got her way, Marqesita could benefit. If Marqesita got her way, Eries could benefit. The word 'interfering' implied going out of one's way to alter another person's course. If they were already on the same course, heading towards the same end, it wouldn't really be interfering. It would be providing a helping hand. Everyone should strive to be helpful.

Eries hastily caged her inner weasel. It had run a little too free a little too quickly. She didn't want to be the kind of person who could offer justifications for anything and everything. Then again, she didn't want to have to offer justifications to her family and friends for failing at her duties at the summit. If she let Meiden beat her, who else could take up the fight? Aston was right, Millerna had no head for politics and he didn't have the health.

So Eries would just have to have the stomach for it. She opened the cage.

"Do you know if Bennor's talked to Meiden lately?" Eries asked offhandedly.

"Not that I know of and with the…_problem…_of our father, he hasn't been out of my sight long enough to get into too much trouble."

"He's out of sight now. That would long enough to meet secretly, form plans." Eries was depressed over how much she was hoping that was true.

Marqesita doubted it. "Tellot's with him. Even if Bennor was meeting with Fassa, they wouldn't be able to speak openly. Unless they used big words. Then they could say whatever they wanted."

"I would like to know for sure if they're in collusion." _So I can be sure I'm not about to sink to a level lower than Meiden's._

"I can't be positive, but I can't be dismissive either."

"No," Eries said. "No, we can't. We should be prepared for whatever they might try."

"We? Prepared?" Marqesita repeated, smirking. "Whatever does that mean?" She wasn't asking out of ignorance. She'd been thinking in similar lines to Eries. Marqesita was asking because she – and Eries – needed to know if Eries had the guts to quit coyly dancing around and say what they had to do. If she didn't, they'd never be able to pull it off.

Whether the inner reserves Eries tapped were of weasel or courage variety, she did lay it all out. "We, together. I know the idea of one voice calling for justice is romantic, but the practice of two voices arguing their case is vastly more effective. In the end, I don't see us disagreeing on all that much anyway. Why agree separately when we can agree as one? And unity can be contagious."

"And how infectious do you think ours will be? In case you haven't noticed, we're the only women in a room otherwise packed with men. Egzardia claims to be advanced in that regard, but I'm getting the impression the rest of Gaea hasn't quite caught up."

"But we're not dealing with the rest of Gaea, only a few choice representatives for the rest of Gaea," Eries said. "And the traditions of their individual countries aren't necessarily indicative of how those choice representatives will act. Fanelia, for example, has rigid roles for women in terms of work and family, but that didn't stop Van Fanel from relying on a girl from the Mystic Moon for guidance."

Marqesita smiled. "Fanel…he's friends with your sister, isn't he?"

Eries smiled too when she answered 'yes'. Millerna's and Fanel's connection wasn't making her happy all by itself. Fanel's decidedly less friendly relationship with another person was widening her grin. "But I don't think Fanel will be calling Meiden his good friend anytime soon, though."

"How unfortunate for our favorite merchant, especially since it looks like Fanel came here ready to be a big player."

"I noticed that, and I'm not the only one. Before the summit began, Meiden was ready to write Fanel off. He was not happy to hear that 'I Won't Build Walls' speech."

"I found it rather inspiring," Marqesita said, eyes alight, "so inspiring that I felt as if I should build a bridge to Fanelia. I don't suppose you would know a good time to start construction?"

Eries knew that Allen and Fanel had discussed getting in a few sparring matches together. Nothing was set in stone, but the general idea was to do something soon before Fanel got too bogged down with summit business. With the fast pace of this morning's proceedings, 'soon' should probably be 'tonight' or 'tomorrow'. That would be best for Fanel's schedule. What luck it was that it was opportune for the two princesses as well.

Marqesita let herself enjoy their good fortune. "I finally get to take some control of this horrible situation and watch two good looking men work up a sweat. My mother will be so proud. I think Father would have been too – at least with the political maneuvering," she finished softly.

"Even if it is against your brothers?" Eries asked hesitantly.

"Especially if it's against my brothers. I've thought about this a lot since he died. Father could have cleared up this whole mess by declaring his successor, Tellot's legitimacy and other issues be damned. But he didn't and I think that's because of the kind of man he was. He was born a prince in line for the throne but he always said that he still had to earn the right to be called a good king. The succession might be a test to see which one of us is the strongest, the most capable."

Eries could relate to that, though she wondered who had it worse. Marqesita had two brothers to deal with whereas Eries had one opponent. Tellot and Bennor versus Meiden Fassa was a classic example of quantity versus quality. Hopefully, Eries and Marqesita could render the debate moot by both coming out on top.

Even if they could get Fanel on their side, victory was far from assured though. There were seven countries at that summit; four were needed to get a majority.

The most obvious candidate for the fourth country was Freid. None of that country's delegates struck Eries as wanting to do any kind of business with Meiden. Nuri en Freid was already bristling at the amount of Asturia's influence. He would not welcome an expansion. As for Chid… Eries felt a guilty lurch in her stomach thinking this, but as for Chid, he was far more likely to listen to his dear auntie than some strange merchant – doubly so if his dear auntie took the time to explain how slimy the strange merchant was. That would work, she knew, but Eries couldn't help but feel that exploiting her nephew like that would turn any comments she made about Meiden into a case of the pot making disparaging remarks about the kettle's color.

Politics were a brutal business. Eries had compromised enough just by allying with Marqesita in secret. She'd be compromising even more by using Allen's friendship with Fanel as a means to get the young king's ear. But she could still justify these actions. Marqesita and Fanel were experienced rulers (or in Fanel's case, getting a lot of experience quickly). They could see Eries' mechanizations for what they were. Chid was five. Chid was her nephew. Chid trusted that she would never use him.

She vowed she wouldn't. That was a line Eries would not cross.

Not even if someone tried to push her.

"So who's next on the list?" Marqesita asked. "You're rather cozy with Freid, aren't you?"

"I'm not subjecting Chid to conspiracies, Sita," Eries stated bluntly.

This wasn't much of a surprise to the other princess. Eries wouldn't be objecting to Meiden Fassa's plans if she were the kind of woman who'd play cold political games with her little nephew. But Marqesita didn't give up so easily. "No, of course you wouldn't, but what about his advisors? If we deal with them the same way we deal with Fanel, do you think they'd be willing to side with us?"

"I don't think they would side with Meiden." She wasn't sure that meant Nuri would like to side with them. Eries explained Nuri's concerns about Asturia and Freid's relationship to Marqesita. She also told her what she knew of Kaja, which wasn't all that much. He was deeply loyal to Mahad and would probably want to stick to Mahad's ideals was all she could come up with.

"Your brother-in-law obviously wasn't against some unity with Asturia. If this Kaja is trying to be just like him, I doubt he's going to be closed to the idea of working with you. And that Nuri man has to realize it'll be better to deal with you than with Fassa."

"What he realizes right now is that he wants Freid to be able to deal on its own. Judging from the things he's said to me, being the lesser evil won't make us more inviting, it'll still make us evil."

"Evil? I'll admit to self-interest in my part, but I wouldn't want to be queen if I thought Bennor would be a better king. Really, I'm only trying to preserve my country!"

"That's exactly what Nuri would say to you if you asked him why we would be considered an 'evil'."

"Sounds like you know him pretty well," Marqesita mused.

"Well, no. I wouldn't say I know him that well." Eries was about to explain why she believed this was so when she realized that Marqesita wasn't going to be interested that explanation. The other princess was forming a plan – and Eries was going to be a central figure in that plan whether she wanted to be or not. She had a feeling it would be 'not'. The most cold-blooded of liars would have trouble calling the glimmer in Marqesita's eye innocent with a straight face.

"So you could get to know him better, yes?" Marqesita continued. "Don't you think that would be a good idea?"

"He'll be able to tell if I'm trying to manipulate him, especially in the manner you're thinking of. I know him that well, at least."

Marqesita shrugged. "Some men like that – especially in that manner."

"I don't think he's one of those kind of men!"

"You can never tell–"

"I can tell with him, Sita. He was raised as a monk, after all."

This remark earned Eries a patronizing grin from her friend. "You don't get out of the palace much, do you?"

"Freidian monks are very serious about their religious vows. Some of them don't even have contact with women outside of the work they do for their communities."

Marqesita's grin widened, then she let out a full guffaw. "You're really just arguing my case for me!"

"No, I am not. Will you get it through your head that Nuri en Freid isn't going to be led around by a pretty face and a partially-dressed body?"

"It's already in my head, Eries. You're the one who doesn't understand. I'm not suggesting some ridiculous plot to seduce the man. Neither of us would be willing to do it to begin with and from what you've told me, it's not necessary. All we need is to get him to listen to us with an open mind. Pleasant company and a more 'relaxed' atmosphere are very helpful tools for that particular job. Honestly, you're a young woman on a council full of old men and you've never learned how far a little flirting can go?"

Obviously Marqesita had never seen the old men that comprised the council. Either that or she had a substantially stronger stomach than Eries. "I prefer not to conduct business that way."

"Hmph. You're going to tell me about your integrity next, right?"

"I would rather earn something based on the strength of my mind, not the filthiness of my fellow councilmen's minds. I wouldn't want that kind of advantage."

"Meanwhile, they have the advantage of being business partners in their personal lives and old chums from school days."

"That doesn't justify being a…acting inappropriately."

"You were about to call me a name?" Marqesita asked. She wasn't angry at Eries, but she was angry. The ire rose in her throat, becoming an intangible lash at the ones who had leveled accusations in the past. "Those men call us names already, no matter what we do. Oh, the types of names change depending on our behavior, but there's always a name at the ready."

There was an argument out there somewhere that Eries could make, some counterpoint to bring up to prove Marqesita wrong. But even if it came to Eries, she would let it pass by. Marqesita was clearly speaking from experience too bitter to be belittled by well-meaning speeches. Eries herself was unaware of any derogatory nicknames being assigned to her by the council – she'd never even heard the old classic 'Ice Princess' from them – but she could empathize. Meiden had talked down to her one too many times for Eries not to.

"I thought Egzardian politics were supposed to be more enlightened," Eries said. "But the more people boast the more there tends to be a difference between what they boast of doing and what they actually do."

Marqesita sniffed at the peace offering. Eries had unintentionally struck a nerve that was slow to be soothed. "And if I boasted of having put up with this garbage for ten years, would you think I was lying?"

"I…" Eries stumbled. "I always thought you were well respected in your homeland. You were Egzardia's representative when we were discussing going to war against Zaibach."

"I did a damn good job of it too. Tellot would have stared into space while Bennor would have tried to cut deals. But you know Egzardia wasn't serious about the war before I came."

"But you persuaded them to be."

"No, the generals and I persuaded my father to be. Then he told everyone else what to think. It was one of his last decisions."

"But he did support you."

"That he did," Marqesita whispered, her anger faded and replaced by a melancholy nostalgia. "He always supported me, even when I didn't deserve it, when I brought disgrace to our family…"

"Disgrace?" Eries puzzled. Was that 'disgrace' tied into the troubles with the succession?

She was too polite to do anything but wait for elaboration, but Marqesita was too private to do anything but change the subject back. "It doesn't matter," she said. "It's in the past and we need to be planning our future. How are we going to handle Nuri en Freid?"

Eries ventured a joke. "You mean besides carefully?"

That peace offering received a better reception. "Yes, besides carefully. I still think my approach will work. You did manage to drag him onto the dance floor the other night, after all."

"I didn't drag him, he approached me."

"And that disproves my point how?"

It didn't disprove it at all. Further recollections of other delegates and their reactions to Eries that night cemented Marqesita's case. Eries gave in, partially. "He's not going to buy that approach from me. I don't think I could pull it off anyway. Maybe you could…?"

"Fine," Marqesita sighed. "Set him up for me and I'll do the rest."

"Just tell me you're not going to wear something too outrageous."

"You really do underestimate me," Marqesita responded, disappointed but not entirely surprised. "But you'll see. Now all we need to do is set up a time and place to have our little chat. And figure out how to get him there."

Eries had vowed not to use Chid for this, but he was the connection that popped into her head along with a plan to exploit it. It wasn't really all that bad of an idea. It would have even been a nice idea without the ulterior motive attached. But it was there, hanging on tight, as Eries ran the plan by Marqesita. "Chid has expressed interest in going to visit Marlene's grave. I could have Millerna take him. Kaja would go along of course, but Nuri never met her. He might consider going along with them intruding."

"So in order to be unobtrusive, he might accept a casual dinner invitation from two princesses who just happen to be present at the time your sister talks to your nephew?"

"He might," Eries concluded. She didn't like this. She was venturing into Meiden territory. But the bottom line was that Meiden succeeded much more than he failed when he was up to his tricks. Being trickier was really just self-defense.

When Alucier and Allen returned, Marqesita was all charm. She parlayed an apology from Alucier for taking so long to retrieve the food into a question about his job as head of security for the summit that somehow changed into another question about the tournament then into a question about Alucier and Allen sparring and then transformed once more into the innocent comment 'I heard that the king of Fanelia enjoys a good sparring match. Allen, I also heard you and Fanel shared Balgus Ganesha as a swordmaster. It must be something to watch the two of you fight'.

From there on out, it was hardly two minutes until Marqesita had secured a promise from Allen to speak with Van Fanel. Another minute and it was decided that tomorrow night would be an excellent time, provided that was all right with Fanel, of course.

"If you'll excuse me," Allen said, "I believe he's taking his meal in his quarters. It won't take me long to ask."

"By all means," Marqesita smiled. "With so much going on, we really should get our schedules coordinated. I know Eries was talking about doing something with her sister but if she doesn't do it soon, who knows when they'll get around to it?"

Eries didn't know why she expected subtlety from Marqesita but she didn't appreciate the nudge. She knew what she had to do. And Marqesita had just proved how easy it would be to do it. Eries' performance might not be as effortless, but she believed she could get the job done.

No, Eries _knew_ she could get the job done. She knew it would be easy too. That was her whole problem. All of this was coming far too easily.

0-0-0-0

Author's Note: Sorry if my preview raised expectations for a big shock for Eries. I was really just setting up her response to Meiden doing so wonderfully well. But she's recovered and now ready to fight fire with fire. Eries and Sita will need some fuel though. And Eries and Allen need to have that chat.

Next Up: Conversation on a Barstool. Two princess, two Knight Caeli and a Freidian monk walk into a bar…


	11. Conversation on a Barstool

Intrigues of a Princess

X: Conversation on a Barstool

Everything turned out to be even easier than Eries had anticipated. After the summit had recessed for the day, she and Allen had, without any plotting necessary on her part, ended up walking with Chid, Kaja and Nuri on the way back to their quarters. At the stairs, the group had encountered Millerna, who just so happened to be heading that way as well. The noblewoman Millerna was escorting then just so happened to make a comment on Chid having hair exactly like his mother's. With Marlene's name (and ample verbiage from the noblewoman) in the air, the idea to visit her graveside came about naturally, without Eries muttering a word.

It was as if Lady Fortune had decided to bless Eries and Marqesita's cabal, if not sign up for membership herself.

The good luck kept coming as Nuri excused himself from the excursion. His explanation for not going was nearly a spot on match to the reasoning Eries had assigned to him earlier. It was a double boost for her confidence. Not only did she not have to worry about getting him alone, it meant that she knew him enough to guess his actions accurately.

Fate was not responsible for Marqesita's arrival on the scene a split second later. She'd been trailing behind Eries, waiting for the right moment to catch up. It did, however, come off as something that was meant to be.

"Eries," she said brightly, "I'm so glad I caught up with you. Are you ready for that evening on the town you promised me?"

"Was that tonight?" Eries answered. Her confusion sounded damnably authentic.

As did Marqesita's annoyance. "You haven't made other plans, have you? I already turned down a dinner invitation because you picked out tonight. Just tell me you're not taking Alucier along with you wherever you're going."

Again, Millerna came to the rescue without even knowing how helpful she was truly being. "If you've already made plans with Princess Marqesita, I could take Chid and Kaja alone."

It was Allen's turn to play the clueless accomplice next. "Perhaps that would be for the best. We don't want any of our guests to feel slighted," he suggested. He did have ulterior motives. Per his duties, he would go wherever Eries went and he preferred not to be at Marlene's gravesite along with Chid. Or rather, he knew it was for the best that he not be there.

Eries knew that too and felt even slimier as The Plan clicked into place like clockwork. Allen had already done enough by scheduling the sparring match with Van Fanel for tomorrow night. His reticence to go with Chid was not something that should be exploited.

But exploited it was as Millerna picked up on Allen's discomfort and provided further assistance. "He's right, Eries. Prior commitments should come first."

Chid was disappointed his other aunt wouldn't be coming, but Eries assured him she would make the trip with him later – maybe even convince his grandfather to come along to pay his respects. Given Aston's reluctance to see Chid, that was a big 'maybe' bordering on a 'by some miracle' or an 'if we kidnap him' but it cheered the young duke to hear it.

The noblewoman knew she wouldn't be invited to either party and excused herself. Nuri quickly followed suit, or tried to before Marqesita made her move.

"Wouldn't you like to see more of Palas too?" she asked him with a smile. "This is your first visit, isn't it? I've been here many times and I never get tired of it."

Nuri was a hard sell. He politely declined the offer and tried to excuse himself again.

But Marqesita was a much harder seller than that. She moved but one step to her right, enough to block Nuri's escape without it being obvious that was her intent. "What else are you going to do tonight? Surely the gods of Freid allow their monks to have a little time for leisure?"

"Our gods," he replied, "ask that we dedicate ourselves to our duty."

"You seem awfully dedicated to me already."

Eries had no idea how Marqesita managed to turn calling a man 'dedicated' into a come on, but she did it, quite skillfully and effectively enough to get a gruff laugh out of Nuri.

"Unfortunately, Princess, you are not the ultimate arbiter of my level of dedication. Again, I'm afraid I must excuse myself."

The third time was not a charm for Nuri. Marqesita wasn't moving. "And what exactly would your duties be tonight? Reviewing summit business? It seems to me that'll be a lonely task up in your room by yourself. I know I always find it easier to discuss these things with other people, such as…Eries, for example. It might be more productive too."

That last sentence was laden with even more subtext than her previous comment about Nuri's dedication. This time the hidden message was taken seriously.

Very seriously. Nuri en Freid was not afraid to speak bluntly. "I suppose getting inside information from other delegates would be rather useful."

Marqesita didn't bother to pretend she didn't know what he was talking about. She sneaked a look at Eries, but that was of little help. Eries was unsure if she wanted to proceed, let alone how to do it. Allen, acutely aware that this was none of his business, began a very thorough examination of the stairs. You could never tell which direction an enemy might come from.

Sensing she was on her own, Marqesita went forward the only way she knew how. "You make it sound so unseemly. We're just old friends having a chat. And if we happen to take more away from that chat then a sense of camaraderie, well, friends _are_ supposed to help each other."

"And the two of you wish to be my friends?" Nuri said. "I thought you were already on good terms with your nephew, Princess Eries. Why the decision to approach me?"

Eries didn't need to answer him. He wouldn't be smirking the way he was smirking unless he already knew. Nuri didn't gain any extra confidence from correctly reading her intentions though. His confidence level was high to begin with.

It was another trial for Eries. For her to challenge Meiden successfully, she couldn't be hesitant or shy. She'd have to be as charming as Marqesita, blunter than Nuri.

She'd have to suck it up and get on with it.

Stage One: Flattery. "From what I know of you," she began, "You are an intelligent, honorable man. You have your views of how Freid should be governed and a desire to sees those views put into action."

Stage Two: Dangle the Carrot in Front of the Target. "Your honor might cause you to balk at the notion of speaking behind the backs of the other delegates," Eries continued, "But your intelligence tells you that there are such things as necessary evils. I share your reluctance. Hopefully, you'll be able to see the practicality of what Marqesita and I propose and we can share more."

Marqesita would have given Eries a hearty pat on the back for a job well done if she hadn't been afraid it would disrupt the intensity of the silent glare Nuri was giving her. He was leaning towards them, not quite there yet, but teetering, ready to give.

Eries didn't want to push, but had no problems with pulling. Stage Three: My Carrot's Much Yummier than the Other Guy's Carrot. "This summit is going to shape the world for years to come. Who would you really prefer to cast the mold? Do you think Meiden Fassa is interested in Freid's independence? Do you think Cesario or Basram or Zaibach cares either?"

"But you do," Nuri finally said.

"Chid is my nephew. Freid is his country. I believe he is well on his way to becoming a strong ruler who can protect his country's sovereignty, but I also believe he is too young to be expected to do it now when the stakes are as high as they are and the players are as cunning as they are."

"Oh, I see. You're being humanitarians. You don't want the little boy being eaten alive by the nasty politicians?"

Stage Four probably shouldn't have been Smack Target Upside the Head with Carrot, but that was the route Marqesita went. "Insult us if you will, but you have the exact same motives. Why else would you be here?"

"I'm here," Nuri responded, "Because I want to ensure that Freid remains independent and true to her history."

"And you think Duke Chid won't be able to do that without your help? Or do you think he might not want to do that without your helping hand to 'guide' him?"

Eries was sending mental signals to Marqesita to revert back to Stage One (which had been her plan anyway) but the other princess wasn't receiving.

Nuri might not have been receptive either anyway. Indignation isn't so easily erased by pretty compliments. "I know my place, Princess. I give my advice but I do not force my liege to listen. I have my own ideas, but it is my liege's decisions that I support."

"Hmph," Marqesita sighed, "Again, you're sounding like me and Eries. And if your goals are noble, maybe, just maybe ours are noble as well. Please consider that before you pass judgment."

So Stage Four was actually See, My Carrot's Not All That Different from Your Carrot. Eries would have liked to know that in advance but she wasn't going to argue too much with results. Nuri _was_ considering what Marqesita had said.

"All right," he relented. "I'll listen to what you propose, but it had better be convincing."

"All I propose right now is that we find someplace cozier to go over the real proposal," Marqesita said. "We don't want anyone coming along and interrupting us."

It was more like she didn't want anyone to overhear them but that hardly needed to be spelled out. They did need to figure out a place where they could convene without it being suspicious that they were convening and that also met the no overhearing, no interruptions requirements.

Eries formed a miniscule amount of grudging respect for Meiden. Being a weasel did take some planning.

Strange then, that it was Allen who proposed the winning solution. "If I might suggest a meeting place, perhaps you'd like to go to Tuvello's? It's not unusual for visitors to Palas to go there and it'll be crowded enough that no one will pay any attention to what you're saying."

"And if we need more privacy," Marqesita chimed in, "Alucier's flat is right above the bar. Perfect!"

Eries squinted curiously at Marqesita. Did she know where Alucier's flat was because he had told her or because he had shown her? It wasn't her business really, but the enthusiasm in Marqesita's voice more or less begged the question. That had to be the cause as Eries didn't fancy herself the prying sort.

The four set off with Allen in the lead. Nuri came last. He wasn't familiar with the term 'bar'. He hadn't much chance to encounter Asturian slang or anything resembling a bar while studying to be a monk in Freid. He assumed it meant restaurant because really, what other kind of establishment would two royals and a Knight Caeli be familiar with?

0-0-0-0

Situated in the heart of the heart and steeped in tradition, the bar (or family tavern as it was labeled in its nicer advertisements) known as Tuvello's was the pride of Palas. At least, it was during the day. When the sun went down, the standards in Tuvello's went down with it. It became more crowded and the crowd itself became older and louder. The friendliness of the waitresses took on a decidedly different tenor. The alcohol flowed more freely.

Everything flowed more freely, really.

For the uninitiated, it could be an eye-opening experience. Nuri en Freid, who fell squarely into that category, decided he would rather close his eyes, thank you. Good, decent men didn't need to be accosted by the sight young serving women in high cut skirts and even lower cut blouses. He announced this to his company, hoping to deter them from going further into the bar.

Marqesita laughed instead. "No, they don't **need** to see it. They don't need to leave huge tips for the waitresses either, but it just works out that way."

"You can not come to this…_place_...often, Princess," Nuri asked of Eries.

She replied that she did, but she left out the part about how ninety-nine percent of those visits had occurred during daylight. The only time she had been here at night was when she had first met Alucier's sister, Damise. Eries hadn't been sufficiently enthralled by the atmosphere then to make a repeat visit until now when circumstances basically demanded it. Allen was right. No one was going to care to listen in on them much less be physically able to do it with all the noise in the background. And things hadn't even really gotten started. It was only dusk. The real fun began when night officially took over.

They had an hour or so before that would happen. Eries wanted to fit in everything before then. If Nuri was skittish of his surroundings now, he'd be running away in abject disgust later.

The party was seated deep in the back by the owner of Tuvello's himself. He recognized Eries and Allen, but he recognized more the occasional need of his customers to remain anonymous. He hardly needed the incentive of the large bill Allen slid into the palm of his hand when the knight shook the barkeeper's hand to thank him for the excellent seating. The gesture was appreciated though.

He left his customers to their business and signaled for his most trusted waitress to take their table. His hostess was told to use her shrewdest judgment on which clientele might be seated in that vicinity.

Their privacy ensured, Eries wondered where to begin. Diving right in seemed inappropriate. Maybe they should broach the topic slowly, start with talk about the summit in general and then narrow things down. Surely they should get their food orders out of the way first. It would look awkward for them to all suddenly go quiet when the waitress came by. It would be rude too.

What was the proper etiquette for forming a secret political cabal?

Eries had been through her share of tricky council meetings, with loyalties bartered and deals made based on things other than the best interests of the Asturian people. This was on another level though, not just in nature but the wide ranging effects. Negotiations about taxes and property lines were petty and simplistic compared to planning the future of Gaea.

If there was a proper etiquette, Eries felt they really ought to follow it.

More honestly, she was putting off the inevitable. She and Marqesita had only been chatting amongst friends so far, tossing out ideas. Dragging Nuri here could be written off as the evening out they were pretending it to be. Once this started for real, Eries would be on the other side of a line that, in the past, Eries would have been indignant if someone had suggested she was even approaching.

_Better hop right over the thing,_ she thought. _Inching over it isn't going to make it any easier._

"So, you all know why we're gathered–"

"Welcome to Tuvello's! I'm Jisette and I'll be taking care of you this evening. Hey, Allen! I haven't seen you in here for a long time!"

Eries stared at the friendly waitress that had interrupted her. She _knew_ she should have waited for their orders to be taken!

Allen did as Allen always did and gallantly came to the rescue. "Actually, Jisette, my friends have matters to discuss. These matters don't really concern me and since I'm familiar with their tastes, why don't I go over the menu with you and leave them to their business?"

Nuri doubted Allen Schezar was all that knowledgeable about Freidian cuisine or that this place was even capable of replicating it but he was sure he'd prefer it if the entirely too perky Jisette would go somewhere else. In Asturia, it might be proper for a servant woman to place her hand on your shoulder and give it a slight massage, but that sort of thing was simply not done in the temples of Freid.

Not that it was unpleasant, really, but Nuri was big on propriety.

"Of course, Allen," Jisette said. "Alucier's at his regular table for dinner. Why don't we go over the orders there? It seems natural for two Caeli to talk, right?"

It did, but Eries wasn't necessarily happy to hear that Alucier was here. Allen was going out of his way to help her, curiously so; she wasn't sure Alucier would be as supportive. He definitely wouldn't have any problem calling her on her apparent hypocrisy in adopting a Meiden Fassa-esque strategy. Eries was positive lectures on ethics from former bodyguards/big brother figures were not part of secret political cabal procedures.

Jisette and Allen left before Eries could issue any warnings to not get Alucier involved. The two of them were likely to be discrete enough not to need any anyway, but Eries still would have liked to say something. It might have calmed some of her nerves.

Marqesita was similarly apprehensive. She hadn't had any outward reaction to finding out her favorite knight was on the premises. She didn't even look for him. She wasn't expecting any lectures from him as Eries was. Alucier was far too much the gentleman to speak to a foreign princess that way. Instead, she expected to receive a silent look of disappointment, which would have been worse.

Nuri was just glad that they were gone and his shoulder was strange woman free. He didn't care what a security guard for the summit thought of any of this. He wanted this over and done with. "You were going to get to your point before we were interrupted?" he prompted.

Eries dropped Alucier from her thoughts. Her focus had to be on Nuri. She began at the most obviously place – Meiden's plans for the summit. If she wanted Nuri to believe she was the best alternative, nothing could be more persuasive than the merchant's own words.

"Why would he tell you all of this?" Nuri asked when Eries was finished.

"Because he's convinced I'll go along with him."

"Did you tell him you would?"

"No!" Eries hissed. "Why else do you think I'm here? I want to stop Meiden."

Nuri needed more proof. "But you are a princess. He is a powerful merchant but nonetheless, only a merchant. Why would you need assistance to stop him? Denounce him a traitor and throw him in prison."

"You like efficiency, don't you?" Marqesita mused.

"Yes I do," Nuri answered, completely serious. "All this talking during the summit…Most of it is a waste of time. If we eliminated all the posturing and stroking of egos, we could be done in a day."

Marqesita made another observation about Nuri. "You haven't spent much time with royalty, have you?"

"Neither at home nor abroad. But I highly doubt Mahad carried on like this. And I will be damned before our new duke picks up such habits."

"You're right about Mahad," Eries said. "He was very direct and plainspoken. I'm sure Chid will follow in his example, especially with Kaja and yourself guiding him."

Nuri bristled at the flattery. He didn't seem much happier with his own statement. "Duke Chid wants nothing more than to follow in his father's footsteps."

While Eries considered Nuri's words with a touch of alarm, Marqesita was blissfully unaware of any hidden meanings that were buried within them. She returned to his original question, ready to give Nuri a lecture on how the rest of the world handles things.

"Politics are much trickier outside of Freid," she said. "A man might not be royalty, but with enough connections, he can fake it. Fassa's best friend is Eries' father. His son is married to Eries' sister. The man has his fingers in trade markets all across the world. It might be Eries' right to get imperious and toss the jerk into jail but she won't be able to do it without facing repercussions. Suddenly, Asturia isn't getting the trade deals it used to get. Suddenly, Eries' family isn't as happy as it used to be. Suddenly, Eries finds her influence shriveled up."

Of all the conclusions Nuri could have made from Marqesita's lecture, he chose the one Eries liked least. "Your king does not support you?"

"He supports me," Eries insisted. "He believes I should handle Meiden on my own though."

"A test? That I will agree with. But forming an alliance while you condemn this Fassa man for doing the same? Is that how you plan to prove your worthiness?"

"Similar methods do not mean similar motives." The phrase sounded familiar. Then Eries remembered Meiden's comment on confusing methods and motives. That was not reassuring.

"So you believe the ends justify the means?" Nuri continued.

Marqesita yawned. "It must get boring seeing nothing but black in white in your world."

"I must be capable of seeing some shades in between or _I _wouldn't be here."

"Then you understand," Eries said warmly, "that there are some ends that do justify less palatable means. I'm aware of my apparent hypocrisy. I'm not proud of it. I wish it weren't necessary. But I cannot escape the feeling that it_ is_ necessary. From what you know of me, do you truly believe I would undertake this task so capriciously? So selfishly?"

Nuri did not consider long. "No, Princess. I don't believe that of you. But while I had my suspicions of Asturia, I also did not believe this Fassa person would try to get us so completely under his influence. Cynical as I am, I was naïve in that regard."

"You're not the first person to underestimate what a slime Fassa can be," Marqesita said. "I don't even think Eries, who's dealt with him most of her life, can accurately gauge how low his depths sink."

"And what are your issues with him, Princess Marqesita?" Nuri asked.

"I'm offended by the general principal of him," she laughed. Under the table, she nudged Eries' foot to join in. Marqesita's issues with Meiden were not ready for public exposure, even to someone they were courting for their conspiracy.

Eries obliged with small chuckle and a fairly convincing half-truth. "Meiden's been trying to gain influence in Egzardia through his trade there. If he succeeds in getting other nations behind him, he might get that and more."

"Understandable," Nuri concluded, "for Princess Marqesita. But Princess Eries, if Fassa has known you and your family for as long as Princess Marqesita said, _why does_ he think you'd go along with him?"

Eries shrugged. "Who knows? Perhaps he's deluding himself. Perhaps he sincerely believes he's doing what's best for Asturia and I'll eventually see that."

"Being charitable, aren't you?" Marqesita sneered.

"I said 'perhaps'."

Nuri ignored the exchange. It was a distraction against the biggest questions he had yet to ask. "You do have to concede Asturia could benefit greatly from expanding her power. You also have to concede that expansion of your influence was the only reason why your sister was married off to Freid. So why should I believe that you are against such a plan? Why should I believe that you gaining my trust isn't part of his plan?"

Marqesita was offended on Eries' behalf. She answered for her too. "Eries came here in good faith. I trust her completely. She's trying to help you, to help us all. She could have shoved you aside and dealt with her nephew, you know. But she's not the kind of person you're insinuating her to be. You just called yourself naïve," she huffed. "That's not what I'd call you."

"Sita!" The support was welcome, but Marqesita was overdoing it. Eries urged her to calm down. "He has a point, one that should be addressed. Truthfully, yes. Asturia could stand to gain from the success of Meiden's plan. But it could also stand to be done irreparable harm. You did not take kindly to the notion of losing control to Asturia. Do you think Freid is the only country that would feel that way? This summit is supposed to be about setting forth changes that will prevent another war from occurring. The last thing I want is for Asturia to become another Zaibach and trigger another war."

"Fassa apparently believes that won't be a concern, or else he would proceed more cautiously," Nuri noted.

"Meiden isn't the most objective assessor of his own abilities," Eries countered. "He believes he can do whatever he wants and still be able to get away with it."

"With help, you believe, from the Cesarians." Nuri frowned. He didn't care for making accusations against an entire nation without solid proof but if Eries was correct, he couldn't wait for confirmation.

"I don't know the extent of their relationship, but something's going on. You saw this morning how badly the Cesarians were fumbling with their extreme restrictions. Then Meiden came along and made everything better and somehow became the de facto leader of the summit."

"That was fortuitous for Fassa," Nuri said. "Not particularly fortuitous for you, Princess. But then that is why you've called this meeting. You need to make up the ground you've lost."

"Does that mean you believe she's secretly not on Fassa's side?" Marqesita asked in the barest hint of a taunt.

"I concede it's highly improbable she's working with him."

Eries was grateful even for that slight concession. She'd be more grateful and considerably relieved if she could convince Nuri that he should be working with them. "Do you concede the advantages of what Marqesita and I have proposed?"

"I concede that I will give it thought."

A 'maybe' was technically better than a 'no', but by Marqesita's standards, too far from a 'yes'. "Don't take too long to think about it," she advised. "The summit's moving quickly. A late action might as well not be any action at all."

"And a hasty action can be worse than taking no action at all. Surely, Princesses, you can afford me a day to consider?"

That still wasn't the answer they were hoping for but even Marqesita knew it was time to settle. Provoking Nuri wouldn't gain them any ground. They agreed to give Nuri his day, a little more than that actually since they decided to set up their next meeting during the sparring match between Van Fanel and Allen. It would kill two birds with one stone – getting everyone together and getting everyone together without being conspicuous. Who wouldn't want to watch a duel between two of the greatest swordsmen in all of Gaea?

Nuri en Freid could not honestly say he wasn't looking forward to it. He'd heard a great deal about both of the men from Chid, with heavy emphasis on Schezar's superior abilities. A devoted monk never shied away from an opportunity to watch masters partake in their craft and to learn from the experience.

As the only living relative of the former duke other than Chid, Nuri also had reasons to keep an eye of Schezar.

That was why, despite his distaste for Tuvello's, he decided to stay for a little longer. Schezar had finally returned, bringing food and drink and a fellow Caeli.

The Caeli acknowledge Nuri with a deferent nod then immediately turned his attention to Marqesita and Eries. "You all seemed to be having a rather lively talk."

"We're leaders of the world, Alucier," Marqesita said. "It's actually a requirement of the job to be able to hold a conversation."

"As leaders of the world, do you really think you should be here at night?"

"Which is why we came here during the evening and will be leaving as soon as we're finished our meals," Eries said. "Tuvello's is an Asturian institution. I thought it would be nice for our guests to take in a meal here and we couldn't very well come here while the summit is in session."

"Uh, huh," Alucier muttered. He fixed Eries in an 'I Know You're Up to Something, Don't Even Pretend You're Not' look and got nothing but a 'Go Ahead and Try to Guess' look in return. He knew most lines of questioning wouldn't be worth pursuing. Eries could outstare a stone wall if she was set on it. It wouldn't be appropriate to really go at her in front of Nuri either. There was little for him to do but play along. "I do hope everyone had an enjoyable experience."

"It's been fun so far," Marqesita sighed, "But I daresay the potential for enjoyment just increased when you brought over our food."

Normally, Eries would have been wary of Marqesita flirting openly with Alucier while Nuri was setting right across from them, but once the two of them got started, Alucier might put aside his suspicions to focus on a more entertaining task.

Nuri wasn't paying much attention to that particular set of a princess and a Caeli anyway. He was watching Eries and Allen and the same open, 'I Know You Know I'm Watching You' manner he'd been using since he first met Allen at the ball.

The main object of his curiosity was not comfortable with the examination. No one had eaten more than a few forkfuls of food when he asked Eries if she would mind helping him select a proper dessert for everyone. "They've changed that menu a lot since you've last been here," he added lamely.

"Of course," Eries said. "We want the last impression our guests have of Tuvello's to be favorable."

Nuri started to say Freidians eschewed the practice of serving sweet foods after a meal but he underestimated just how fast Eries could move, especially with Allen pulling on her arm. Marqesita and Alucier pretended it was an interesting little fact about Freid, Alucier because it allowed him to change the subject and Marqesita because whatever made Alucier happy tended to put her in the same mood.

"You do realize," Eries said once they'd put half the bar between them and their table, "constantly leaving whenever Nuri looks at you isn't going to do much to allay any suspicions he might have of you."

"Do you think anything would do that?" Allen asked.

By the time they caught up to Jisette at the huge bar that ran the entire length of the western wall, Eries hadn't come up with anything. They went through the motions of looking at the menu while Jisette came up with recommendations. A few men at the bar took second glances at Eries, thinking they knew her from somewhere but not familiar enough with the actual faces of the royal family to place her, even with a Knight Caeli standing beside her. A few others took second glances as well, but not because she looked familiar. It was only the Knight Caeli standing beside her that kept these men from making their third and fourth looks last overly long.

It wasn't subtle and it didn't go unnoticed. "Those men keep glancing at me," Eries whispered to Allen. "So much for the anonymity we were hoping for."

Allen gave a look of his own to the men in question. They immediately went back to their drinks. One of the bolder men risked a quick peek but a shift of Allen's hand from holding a page of the menu to holding the hilt of his sword put a quick end to that.

"I don't think you have to worry about them any longer," he whispered back.

"But if they already recognized me…"

"I don't think that's why they were staring."

"Why else would they?"

Allen sighed in exasperation. "Didn't we have this conversation when I was escorting you to the ball?"

"That was different," Eries insisted. Allen didn't respond, only stared at her as if demanding that she explain what the differences were. Believing he'd keep staring until she complied, Eries listed them out. "I had my hair up. I was wearing that dress."

"It wasn't your hair and it wasn't the dress. How many times have I told you that you're beautiful?"

It was somewhat disturbing to Eries that she knew the exact number. It would be more disturbing if Allen knew that she knew the exact number so she tried to be dismissive as possible. "I seem to remember that one of those times was when I had to retrieve you from this very bar to keep you from drinking enough alcohol to put yourself into a coma. Of course, I arrived a little late and you were already halfway there…"

"If you're implying that the only reason I told you that you are beautiful was because I was inebriated then I'll have to remind you that I was sober the other times I made the same statement." Flashing a smile that would have made most women to forget how to breathe, he added, "And I'm quite sober now if you need to hear me say it again."

Eries, luckily, was not most women, so she was able to gasp out, "No, that's not necessary" before burying her head in the menu. "Thecakesheresounddelicious," she said when next able to exhale.

"I'm sorry, I've embarrassed you."

"Don'tbesilly."

Allen, however, took her not-distress to heart and began praising the cakes instead of Eries' beauty. "You should try the spiced ones. Back when I lived upstairs, sometimes that's all Revius and I would eat for dinner."

Eries couldn't imagine Allen being so uncouth. She did not have the same problem with Revius. "Desserts are probably all Revius would eat if I didn't invite him to breakfast every morning."

"He'd just steal food from Alucier," Allen laughed. "He was always threatening to put a lock on the pantry to keep Revius out but he never went through with it."

"He wouldn't want his friend to starve. Alucier's very conscientious like that."

"Yes. Alucier _is_ conscientious," Allen said leadingly.

Eries purposely didn't follow. "Hmm, that vanilla cake looks good too."

"It is, just as good as Alucier is conscientious." People didn't have much choice but to follow if you surrounded them.

Eries didn't like being hedged in but dropped the cake talk anyway. "I know what I'm doing is questionable and I know Alucier wouldn't hesitate to ask questions. It's not as if I don't realize the ethical implications either so I don't need to hear them again."

"You don't think he'd support you? He's closer to you than most of his sisters."

"I know. That's why I don't want to disappoint him. He would support me but it would be against his own code of ethics."

"I think Alucier's savvy enough about politics to know that things can get dirty. He's not going to judge you for bending a few rules."

"You're certainly not. You've actually been quite the abettor."

"I…" Allen hesitated. 'Abettor' was too harsh – both for him and for Eries. She was acting as if she were launching a scheme to take over the world instead of planning a way to stop Meiden from doing it. Convincing her otherwise might be as hard as convincing her she was beautiful.

But Allen Schezar had been trained to try, no matter the odds. "I know you, Eries. You wouldn't do anything unless you truly believed it to be for the best. And over the years, I've come to trust your judgment on what is for the best. If you've decided to do this, I've decided I should help you in whatever way that I can."

Now Eries couldn't breathe. She gaped at Allen, his loyalty and faith in her meaning more than any compliment on her beauty ever could.

"If you give Alucier the chance," he continued, "I think he'll say the same thing. We're not that dissimilar after all."

"Ah, well, yes," Eries stammered. He was right. Allen and Alucier were both Knights Caeli and followed the Code of the Order. (Then again, so did Revius, but Revius was …_special_.) She still expected a lecture and some general 'tsking' before Alucier gave his support but, in the end, that was the probable outcome.

And his support, given that he was the head of security for the summit and thus charged with the responsibility of keeping track of where all the delegates were at all times, could come in handy.

Only if he offered though, just as Allen had done. Eries wasn't going to press her friends into a service that could be at odds with their honor.

"Maybe you should tell him before you get too far into this," Allen suggested.

"Yes, better for him to hear it now instead of finding out later when he catches us meeting in secret. I don't know if Marqesita will feel the same, though." Eries glanced back at the table to gauge how well the other princess was doing with the other Caeli. Rather well, going by the smile on Alucier's face and the look of discomfort on Nuri's.

This left Eries in a predicament. "Should I wait until they frighten off Nuri so we can talk in private or should I be a good host and come to Nuri's rescue?"

"We haven't yet selected a dessert," Allen said. He wasn't in a rush to return to the table and Nuri's scrutiny. He wasn't of a mind to be subtle about it either.

Eries picked up the broad hint easily. "This is an extremely long dessert list. Let's start from the top again."

They were halfway through the berries and fruit section when Allen asked Eries why she thought Nuri seemed to find him so fascinating. "He can't know the truth if he and Duke Freid weren't close and I doubt your father wouldn't tell him."

"Actually my father says he didn't even tell Meiden. He was emphatic about it."

Allen had yet to get used to the idea that King Aston was in on his darkest secret, but it wasn't as if the man was ever going to forget so he had to accept it and move on. No more dwelling for him, or only a little dwelling with the emphasis being on someone else. "You were sure he had told Meiden the other day. Was this something that came up during your talk last night with your father and Millerna?"

"It was one topic among many."

Eries' less than enthusiastic tone made Allen wary of proceeding, but moving on did entail moving. "The three of you discussed it. Openly. All together. Was that what upset you or was there something else?"

The urge to tease was rising in Eries but she fought it off. Allen wouldn't be up to talking much longer if it did get the better of her and she really did want to share with him. Dessert was going to have to wait. "We cleared up a lot of things, especially about Marlene. Father admitted he hadn't treated her well and I told him she was happy in Freid. Then he told us about his marriage to our mother and how none of us ever really embraced our duties."

"That's why you were upset? Because your father doesn't think you're doing your duty? I can't believe him. Everything you're doing for this summit-"

"No! It's not that at all! He knows I'm doing my duty. But he believes I'm doing it because I feel I need to, not because I want to."

This wasn't exactly squaring with Allen's previous view of the king. He spoke his new conclusion slowly, bemusement making the words hard to form. "You're saying…you're saying his main concern is…it's that you aren't…_enjoying_ your duties?"

Eries couldn't help but laugh. "And I thought my father had a poor opinion of you!"

Allen could cite nigh overwhelming evidence in his defense that his opinion was well-founded. Before he got around to it though, the thought occurred to him that King Aston probably felt the same way. Not wanting to drag any of_ that_ business up, he chose to treat what Eries had said as good news. "I didn't mean it like that. Really, it's good to hear that he feels that way."

"I shouldn't make fun of you," Eries admitted. "You weren't the only one taken aback by what he said. Granted, you were taken further aback than either Millerna or myself…"

"The two of you would know him better," Allen said, finally raising a tiny bit of defense.

It was enough to turn Eries introspective. "Yes, we should. He's even told me how important my happiness is to him in the past but I never much took it to heart. Which, now that I think of it, makes me somewhat of a hypocrite considering the lectures I used to give Millerna and the excuses I made for giving them."

"But you and Millerna have made up. That's all in the past."

It was all in the past. Unfortunately for Eries, the past was only last night and it was all in the present too. Tangled around it all was Allen.

Eries wanted to talk to him about it, maybe unravel the mess a little if she could. She did not, however, want to speak about it here. They'd already said too much about too many people. No one appeared to be listening just as Allen promised but Eries wasn't sure. Secretive scheming that could alter the political landscape of the world was one thing. This was about her family, her feelings.

"Do you think we could take this upstairs?" she suggested. "We can't very well stand here with dessert menus for the rest of the night."

"It's not too conspicuous, is it?" he joked. "Why don't I get something to take with us and you can think of something to say to Alucier and the others?"

Eries would have preferred to switch tasks, but she really should be the one to tell her co-conspirators to get lost, I need to talk to Allen in private. She trudged back to the table wondering how the trio had gotten along during her absence.

Marqesita and Alucier were doing wonderfully. Eries doubted if they had noticed how long she'd been gone or the fact she was dessertless upon her return.

Nuri was not as wonderful and decidedly more alert to the situation. "This establishment must have quite the selection," he commented wryly.

"I wasn't sure what would be appealing to a Freidian diet," she explained. "To be honest, I can't recall any kind of desserts Freidians eat."

"That would be because we typically don't. We reserve sweets and the like for rituals or particularly festive occasions. We don't believe in wasting our resources on frivolous pleasures."

Eries did not want that to be the last thing said before she excused herself to go with Allen. Inadvertent as it may have been, it had a tinge of irony in it that was not welcome.

It did, however, provide a nice way for her to get rid of Nuri. "Then I won't force our bad habits upon you. Speaking of which, it is getting late and the atmosphere here at Tuvello's can become very _lively. _This would probably be a good time for you to take your leave."

"Actually," he sighed with a nod towards Alucier and Marqesita, "I should have taken my leave some time ago. If you're headed back to the palace, I'll come with you."

"Back to the palace? Ah, not at this moment. I still have some business here. Perhaps you can go with Alucier and Sita. I'm sure he was about to offer to escort her home for the night." Moving behind him so she could press the tips of her fingers into the back of his neck, Eries asked him cheerfully, "Weren't you, Alucier?"

"I suddenly feel inspired to do that very thing, Your Highness," he agreed.

Marqesita was not as agreeable. She liked it where she was. Outnumbered two to one, she had to agree but made sure her displeasure would be duly noted. "There's nothing like a sunset stroll along the canals of Palas with a handsome Knight Caeli on your arm and a foreign dignitary walking right behind you to watch the whole thing."

"I don't suppose it occurred to you, Princess, that the foreign dignitary might feel the same way?"

It sounded as if this was going to be an interesting walk back to the palace. Not necessarily interesting in good way, but interesting was better than nothing. Better still was meeting Allen upstairs.

Eries hurried them along. "I hope you enjoy the rest of your evening. We'll meet again tomorrow on the roof of the north wing for Van Fanel's match with Allen."

Marqesita nodded. Yes, she'd definitely be there.

Nuri withheld any promises of his attendance. "I'm still considering your offer, Princess. If I decide against it, I do not think it would be wise to associate overmuch with you."

_Damn it!_ That was a worse line to leave on than the other. She needed more commitment than that. She could talk to Allen later. He'd wait for her.

Marqesita intervened before that became necessary. She pulled Eries aside, ostensibly to say goodnight, but instead she whispered, "It's all right, Eries. You've done enough tonight. You're obviously in some sort of rush, let me take care of him on the walk back."

"What about Alucier? I doubt he wants to listen to you persuade Nuri to join a conspiracy."

"I doubt he does myself, but I know part of him being such a respectable knight is that he'll keep his qualms to himself until he has a chance to air them in private. But who knows? Maybe he'll as helpful as Allen has been."

"And if he isn't?"

Marqesita considered this for a moment. "Then I'll warn you tomorrow if you should expect to participate in any qualm airing."

"You don't mind that he might disapprove?"

"I mind," she said softly. "But not as much as you seem to mind keeping Allen waiting."

There was no use protesting. There was no time either. Marqesita abruptly turned towards Alucier and Nuri and announced they should be going. "Have fun," she called back to Eries with a wink as the three of them headed toward the door.

Damn it again. Why did everyone act like they knew so much about what Eries thought about Allen?

Why did some of them have to be right?

* * *

Author's Note: I promised a chat between Allen and Eries but that'll have to wait until next chapter. I was already approaching the eight thousand word mark and hadn't even gotten to it and I'd rather not rush it to meet deadline as this chat is a very important chat. Turning point kind of stuff. But I'm sure you're not interested in that.

I just discovered something with this chapter. I **really** hate typing the name Marqesita. There's a million ways to misspell it and I think I discovered them all during the course of writing this chapter.

Anyway, apologies for not responding to any reviews this time around. I had the ever so tragic real life crisis of three video games I've been waiting forever to play come out within two weeks of each other. Horrible, I know. Thanks to all who did review and I'll try to catch up on any questions that were asked. Hope you remember asking them.

Next Up: All That You Can't Leave Behind. It's an OC-fest as Alucier, Sita and Nuri take a hike. Then it's on to the main event – Allen and Eries reach an understanding.


	12. All That You Can't Leave Behind

Intrigues of a Princess

XI: All That You Can't Leave Behind

If there was one scene that epitomized the sentimental novels of Asturian literature, it was the image of the heroine standing along the canals of Palas, gazing solemnly down as she watched her reflection and that of the moons ripple in the water. Just as she would turn away, on the verge of giving up hope of ever being with her love, she would take one last glance and find the hero's visage floating beside hers. The heroine would then spin around, daintily express shock at seeing her lover in the flesh and blood before her and collapse into his warm embrace. It was generally assumed that they lived happily ever after.

Marqesita had read a few of these novels, mostly for cheap laughs and to practice her Asturian. She found the heroines to be hopelessly naïve at best, completely stupid and in dire need of a rude awakening at worst. The most she could relate to these women was to feel sorry for the hapless suckers. When they were especially annoying, she'd root for the villains.

She had never, while reading one of these books, ever imagined herself in the heroine's place. Marqesita was not the kind of woman who waited around for a dashingly handsome man to save her from the evil rival, evil step-mother, evil somebody-or-other who had taken a bizarre interest in her love life.

Which was a shame because Marqesita looked like the kind of woman who appeared in these novels, Alucier (in her opinion, the writers might want to make him lose the glasses) looked like the kind of man and, since they were walking along the Palas canals at moonrise, they were in the kind of setting that brought the target audience to their knees. A shadowgraph of the moment could have been the cover of a bestseller, assuming the person who took it could get Nuri to move out of the way.

No, Nuri did not fit in at all.

He seemed to have sensed this and kept quiet while Alucier and Marqesita traded small talk. Not much effort was made to include him in the conversation. Marqesita wanted to keep things light and avoid the matter of why she and Eries had met with Nuri in the first place. Alucier felt the same way about the weight of the conversation for a different reason. He already had a good idea why everybody had met and was having too nice an evening – the first he had had completely free in a couple of weeks – with Marqesita to spoil it. Nuri just didn't want to talk unless there was actually something to discuss. 'Don't you love the feel of the breeze off the water?' did not qualify as a worthy discussion topic.

They held up the status quo all the way to the palace. Once there, the sight of Meiden Fassa in the courtyard caused Marqesita to request a detour which in turn raised a question that Alucier would have had to close his eyes, cover his ears and sing something along the vein of 'la, la, la, can't hear you' to ignore.

Being a gentleman, he did bring it up politely.

"Not that Meiden Fassa is my favorite person either, but is there a reason why you don't want him to see you?"

"I don't care if he sees me," Marqesita said. It technically wasn't a lie.

"Do you care if he sees you and Nuri en Freid together?"

"That's not fair, Alucier." It really wasn't. Being so direct like that took away all the wiggle room technicalities provided.

"I don't see how that would matter," Nuri said. It was the first thing he had said since they left Tuvello's and was thus given its due attention. "After all, Fassa's supposedly in league with the Cesarians according to Princess Eries' theories and he feels free to be seen in their company. Why should we hide from him? Particularly when we have yet to reach an agreement."

"An agreement?" Alucier echoed. "Whatever kind of agreement could that be? Three dignitaries meeting in a secluded area of a bar where no one will overhear them – I imagine you could have reached all sorts of agreements there."

"I'd tell you," Marqesita said, "but it might take all your fun at guessing away."

"I think he has already made his guess, Princess. I don't think antagonizing him will cause him to change it."

Alucier thanked Nuri for the unexpected support. He would have also thanked him for being the first person to be honest about the whole thing tonight but that would have been antagonizing Marqesita. He went for the gentler strategy of just being the concerned friend that he was. He couldn't argue with the history of success with Marqesita that strategy had had. "Sita, I didn't say anything during dinner because I didn't want to force you into anything. And I didn't want to ruin the good time we were having."

Alucier paused, convinced he had heard Nuri mutter something. Not knowing that Freidians had a single word that conveyed the meaning of the phrase 'I'll say you were having a good time', he dismissed the notion and continued. "But if you're going to act so suspicious, I have to say something. Because I'm not the only one who's bound to notice it."

"And you're the only one who can protect me from the big, bad people who might misinterpret my actions."

Freidians also had a single word that meant 'out with it, woman'. Nuri almost translated this muttering, because if this dragged out any longer, he was going to start using the colloquialism 'you act like Duke Naheer at the Battle of Tinfei'. It's most basic meaning was 'you are acting like idiots' but there was also an undertone of 'for the love of god, grow up!'. Naheer dal Freid was a young, not an especially well-regarded duke before accidentally stabbing himself to death with the sword of his own melef. Embarrassment that he was, he did provide a good argument to those who thought birthright may not be the best way to pick rulers.

Alucier was sure he had heard Nuri that time, but getting translations would have to wait. His credibility in calling Eries on all the times she hemmed and hawed instead of speaking out would go down dramatically if he didn't get this worked out with Marqesita.

"Why don't you just tell me what you're up to? How bad could it be?"

"I thought you already knew…"

"I'd like to hear it from you. You know, it really makes me feel good to know both you and Eries apparently think I'm some kind of judgmental ass, not to mention a complete idiot with no clue how politics work."

"It's not like that!"

"Then explain to me what it is like," Alucier demanded.

Nuri did not have an appropriate phrase for this circumstance. Monks never, ever spoke to their own royalty in such a manner and it would be a disgrace to the entire nation of Freid to speak to foreign royalty that way. Clearly, the knights of Asturia were much more liberal in their approach. Making demands, using harsh language – what other liberties did they take?

He had a suspicion he knew of one enormous liberty a knight had taken with a princess, but until he had confirmation, he wasn't going to list it as a sin just yet. And he certainly wasn't going to give voice to it.

Marqesita wasn't feeling particularly loquacious either. She'd promised Eries she'd take care of this, she knew Alucier wasn't a judgmental ass at all and believed, mostly, that he would understand. But on the chance that he didn't, she wasn't in a hurry to lower the opinion of the one man who had never called her any kind of name or had ever made any kind of insinuation – even if that man was just a knight from another country.

Maybe she had more in common with those sentimental heroines than looks after all.

The thought annoyed her and convinced to do the opposite of those weepy women. They'd never confess to playing political hardball. They'd never play political hardball period. Those kind of shadowy maneuvers were usually reserved for the heroine's relatives – their brothers, the fathers, those weird love-life obsessed stepmothers.

Marqesita did have one conniving brother, but her step-mother stayed out of Marqesita's affairs (both business and romantic) and her father… Her father wouldn't be intervening in anything anymore.

Shoving that thought firmly aside, she channeled her grief into brutal frankness. "If you truly need to know, Alucier, I'll tell you. Eries and I have decided to take charge of this summit by allying ourselves with similar minded nations. The meeting tonight at Tuvello's was so we could convince Nuri en Freid to join our cause. Tomorrow night, we're meeting with Van Fanel on the pretext that he'll be sparring with Allen. You can come watch if you want to. I'm sure both events will be entertaining."

She waited for a rebuke that was slow in coming. When it arrived, it was in a confused, hurtful state. The disappointment underneath was not for the reason she feared either.

"Why didn't you trust me with this? What did you think I would do? I might not agree with the secrecy but it's not as if I'd try to expose you. I might point out how becoming like your enemies might not be the ideal way to stop them, but it's still your decision."

"Well…good. I'm glad you understand that." She was relieved too, with a side of appreciative, but Marqesita wasn't going to gush.

"I might make some sarcastic comments here and there," he continued.

"But that's nothing either Eries or I aren't ridiculously over-acquainted with," she finished.

"Of course, if you were to annoy me sufficiently, I might change my mind."

"Then we'd just sic Allen on you. He knows how to protect his princess."

"Yeah, so I noticed. He ran a nice game of interference when I noticed the three of you at the bar."

"Do you believe you were alone in this observation?" Nuri interrupted. He spoke because it was a matter of security. That it stopped Alucier and Marqesita from resuming their dinnertime behavior was only a bonus.

"Probably. The patrons of Tuvello's aren't that concerned with foreign royalty to even know your names much less what the two of you look like and Eries has been there enough that the only ones that would recognize her would think nothing of her being there. Maybe if it had been the daytime tourist crowd, somebody might have thought something, but otherwise I think you're in the clear."

"I'll have to thank Allen for the suggestion to go there the next time I see him then," Marqesita said.

"Allen suggested it?" Alucier asked.

Marqesita nodded. "He really is looking after Eries, isn't he? I always thought…"

Alucier didn't need her to specify what it was that she always thought. He always kind of suspected the same thing, was wary of it but wondered if it wasn't ultimately inevitable.

Nuri didn't need specifics either. The suspicions he already had provided enough material to fill in the blanks.

0-0-0-0

It had been a while since Eries had been in Alucier's apartment. What changes she noticed were for the better. Revius' decrepit old couch had finally given up the ghost and been replaced with furnishings that bore a suspicious resemblance to the furnishings in Allen's temporary home. Suddenly, the mystery of the sitting room there not having a lot of actual places to sit was solved.

Whether Revius had gotten permission from his parents to poach chairs from their guest house wasn't important to Eries. She was just relieved she could sit down without having to worry if her seat was going to collapse on her. Her conversations with Allen lately had been chock full of verbal pitfalls and the last thing she needed was to be physically falling on her butt.

Despite not having lived there for years, Allen remembered and felt at home enough about the place to retrieve table settings and a bottle of vino. He set them down on the table in front of the chairs alongside the dessert he'd brought up from Tuvello's and invited Eries to join him.

Eries helped herself to the vino, pouring it out until it was just under the brim. She wasn't sure if too much alcohol would be a good thing or a bad thing tonight, but with all the stress of the past few days weighing on her, erring on the side of caution lost its appeal. Besides, she knew she could count on Allen not letting her get too far gone.

He was more conservative with his glass and he cut Eries an extra large slice of cake. She hadn't had a chance to eat much of her dinner and the quality and quantity of the vino in her glass would go straight to her head on an empty stomach.

"You wanted to talk?" he asked as he passed Eries her plate.

She had two options: stall for time by commenting on the dessert (a chocolate and berry cake, one of her favorites) or get right to it.

She didn't hesitate. She had put her stalling days with regard to Allen behind her.

"You were saying that the fights between Millerna and I were in the past. That's true. We haven't fought since her return to Palas. But lately, there's a tension between us and I don't know how it came around or what to do to be rid of it."

"And the source of this tension," Allen ventured, "it's not me again, is it?"

"Congratulations, have another piece of cake."

Allen wasn't happy to be right. He could take some consolation on the fact that his next guess was wrong. "She doesn't still have any feelings for me?"

"No," Eries said deliberately. "I think she realizes that you and she were not meant to be. If she is still harboring any feelings, she's keeping them well hidden. The problem is, she seems to think, and I'm not sure why she believes this, but the problem is she is under the impression that_ I_ might still have feelings for you. It's silly."

Neither of them laughed at the supposed silliness. Allen tried to find an explanation for it. He started with an easy question. "She knows you've spent a lot of time with Celena and me recently. We did arrive at the ball together and we danced together. Could there be some kind of misinterpretation?"

"Obviously there is. I've told her time and again that we're only friends but she wasn't happy until I told her how I used to feel about you. Not that hearing that actually did make her happy."

"She must not believe you," Allen surmised. He didn't waste any breath asking why she thought Millerna didn't believe. Eries would only say she didn't know. She'd need to consume a lot more vino before her answer would change. Allen took a long drink, sure that he'd need some more vino in him too before he could give the answer he thought was true.

Even without any prompt, Eries said she didn't know. Her speculation didn't match Allen's. "She was taken aback by the amount of information I withheld from her about Marlene. Maybe she's thinks I'm repeating the pattern. It's possible too that she hasn't let go of her crush as I thought she had. She's just lashing out at me. It doesn't help that her situation with Dryden is so confused. He's proven what a noble merchant he is. I wish he'd come back already and settle things with Millerna."

"Any news of him?" Allen asked. Eries was headed off on a tangent anyway. By pushing her in a specific direction, it might be easier to push her back later.

"Nothing much. By the time news gets back to us, he's left port. I'd ask Meiden if he has received any letters from him lately, but our relationship is not what you would call cordial at the moment."

"Dryden's your brother-in-law. Asking about him wouldn't be out of the question no matter how bad your relationship with Meiden is. He's probably just as eager as you are to see the two of them together again."

"For entirely different reasons!" Reflecting, she added, "I've been using that qualifier a lot lately."

"Don't compare what you're doing with what Meiden's doing. Your intentions-"

"Are noble, pure, in the interest of all mankind and I'll be deified for how wonderful I am."

"You really shouldn't be so hard on yourself, Alucier. Excuse me, I meant Eries. It's hard to tell the difference when you're being so sardonic."

There was one chunk of cake left on her plate. It was an end piece, loaded with icing that had softened while they'd been talking. It would be a wonderful projectile if Eries had the desire to use it as such. She didn't. He was mocking her to support her and she liked a gooey blob of sugar every now and then.

She finished the piece up and went to cut another, musing while she scooped up some berries that had fallen to the side. "Speaking of Alucier, Sita said she'd run this plan of ours by him on the way back to the palace. They're probably talking about right now."

"I think you're projecting your own doubts about what you're doing onto Alucier. Yes, his honor is a lot less tarnished than my own but he knows there can be a difference between what's ethically right and what's morally right. This is the man who turned a blind eye to Gaddes and Millerna breaking me out of prison so I could go to Freid."

Eries cocked an eyebrow. "Projecting my own doubts?"

"I borrowed a phrase from Dr. Atrineu," Allen said. "If I were feeling petty, I'd offer up examples of times when you've done the same thing. My point stands though. You're worrying for nothing. I'd be willing to bet Princess Marqesita will tell you the same thing tomorrow."

"If she doesn't?"

"You'd still have my full support. And you know Revius wouldn't care what you did short of having Meiden Fassa assassinated. He probably wouldn't care even then."

Allen hoped a little levity would disperse the last of Eries' worries. It worked, though it was more the reiteration of his pledge of support that made her smile. She offered a toast to the loyalty of the two youngest and most roguish Caeli.

"We're also the two most skilled with a sword," Allen reminded her.

"How could I forget? That will come in most handy during the assassination attempt."

She drained the rest of her glass while Allen mock-speculated on well he and Revius could hold off the rest of their fellow knights. That led to predictions for the second round of the Caeli tournament, to be held tomorrow afternoon, over refills. By the third glass of vino, they had moved to Allen's impending sparring match with Van Fanel.

"It's just a cover for you and Princess Marqesita to talk to Van isn't it?" Allen asked outright.

A plain question deserved a plain answer, especially in light of what Allen had done for her willingly. "Yes," Eries admitted. "I didn't want to use you like that but it was the most natural way for us to approach him."

"I would have agreed to it regardless. I would have been more upfront about it to Van, but I still would have asked him. You really should have more faith in your friends having faith in you."

"I think that goes back to your point, Dr. Atrineu. I believe I need to have more faith in myself first."

For reasons unknown to Eries, Allen found this comment amusing. He had to pull away his glass of vino mid-sip to chuckle.

"My crisis of self-confidence is a source of entertainment to you?" Eries asked. "That's not being supportive."

"No, it's not," Allen agreed. "I just find it strange. You're one of the most resolute, spirited persons I have ever met. If you're determined to do something, you do it. And yet, here you are, second-guessing yourself to the point of second-guessing everyone around you."

"Excuse me, but I've never plotted an international conspiracy before."

"I never pictured you as the type to back away from something new."

"I never pictured you as the type to laugh at me about my problems."

Allen apologized, said he hadn't meant to offend her. No offense had really been taken, but Eries still dwelled on what Allen had said. She knew where that opinion of her had come from. She knew most people shared it. But she also knew it wasn't entirely true. There was one matter she had spent years wavering back and forth on and never had made a move until she had decided it was a moot point.

"I'm not as resolute as you think I am," she said. "I'm not as strong."

"Don't be ridiculous."

"I'm being completely serious, Allen. You said once I'm determined to do something, I do it. That's not true. You don't know how many times I resolved to tell you the truth about how I felt about you but lost nerve at the last moment."

"I think," Allen said after a long pause, "that's a very different situation compared to all the things you've done with the council and what you're trying to do with this summit."

"Yes," Eries sighed. "This is only politics. This is only the future of our country, of all countries. Nothing to worry about there."

"Did you ever consider that maybe your instincts back then were right? That you have no reason to suspect they're wrong now?"

Eries poured her fourth glass of vino, cut off a sliver of cake and settled back into her chair in preparation to hear a long, detailed explanation from Allen. Even if he didn't have anything to back his theory up, she'd get good food and drink out of the deal.

"Go ahead, Allen. Tell me how I was actually being wise beyond my years instead of cowardly by not telling you."

Allen could tell by the way she was sitting, by the way she casually held her glass that she didn't think he could do it. After all these years of talking him through crisis after crisis, she didn't think he would be able to help her through this crisis of faith. It was a little insulting to Allen that now that the shoe was on the other foot, she didn't think he would be able to wear it.

But as he slid his metaphorical foot in, the new shoe was as comfortable as the old. It became more so as he walked gracefully through his answer to Eries.

"I know your instincts not to tell me were right because I also know that I wasn't in any condition to hear it before now. Think about how I would have reacted. You saw how well I handled Millerna's attentions."

Princesses, particularly ones of Eries' bearings, did not utter the word 'duh' so she had to settle for staring blankly at Allen. She had thought about how he would have reacted. She had thought about it for _years_. Her predictions had varied from dire to delirious daydream but all the ones the fell into the realm of realism (and were backed up by hindsight) had one thing in common: they proved Allen right.

As much as she would have liked to ascribe her reticence to some sixth sense into Allen's ability to handle the truth, she thought he was letting her off too easily. "I'll concede that, in all likelihood, it would have been a bad idea. But that wasn't what I was thinking at the time."

"So what were you thinking?"

"I was fearing that you'd be horrified. 'I'm sorry, Eries, but I only think of you as a friend' or 'I could never be with you after being with your sister'. Of course," she added with a snort, "that latter fear turned out to be completely unjustified."

It was a tribute to their great friendship – and many, many long talks with Dr. Atrineu -that Allen could take that comment as the joke it was meant to be. Eries didn't know what was to credit for her being able to make the joke in the first place. They didn't laugh about Allen's involvement with Marlene and Millerna. They agonized, fretted, went into deep states of denial and/or frustration. There was no laughing.

Except, there _was_. It started with a melodramatically pained smile from Allen which led to an attempted apology from Eries which was rejected on the basis of being unnecessary and took off from there.

"I really did mess things up, didn't I?" Allen said after they had gotten more back to themselves.

"I tried to clean them up," Eries replied. Recalling how hard she had tried, she allowed herself to claim a tiny amount of the credit Allen was giving her. "Maybe you're right. In the struggle to fix everything, I did realize how much messier things would have gotten if I had told you."

"You were trying to fix me?"

"I wouldn't put it in those terms."

"Yes, you'd use much fancier terminology. Perhaps borrow a phrase from a book on psychology or two…"

He scored two hits, both dead on. Eries was beginning to regret picking on Allen's quoting of Dr. Atrineu; he had too much ammunition to turn it around on her.

Eries was not defenseless however, and not above delivering a good-natured ribbing to show it. "You have to admit, there was some amount of fixing to be done."

"Just a bit," he laughed again. "And I can't really say too much about you trying to fix me when I've spent most of my life trying to save everybody else."

"The unending duty of the gallant knight," Eries quipped.

Allen had switched moods already though, contemplative now when he'd been jovial a second before. After a good, long stare at his vino without taking a sip, he said quietly, "That's why I chose Marlene, you know. Because I wanted to save her. She needed me, needed someone, to be there only for her."

This confession wasn't exactly news to Eries. She'd come to the same conclusion a long time ago and assumed Allen had been too blind to see it. But hearing Allen say it out loud, hearing the strain in his voice on the words 'save' and 'need' she realized that Allen probably had known as long as she had, he just hadn't been able to fully admit it.

There was something else there too, another message hidden within a single word of the confession. "What do you mean you 'chose' Marlene?"

The vino glass endured another round of staring but this time Allen drained its entire contents before speaking. "Do you remember when we were reminiscing about the night I gave you your earcuffs? I told you that I had been wondering back then if we could be more than friends."

Eries doubted she'd forget that moment even in the deepest senility. "What does that have to do with–"

"I wasn't completely honest with you. I made it sound as if that had been the first time I had ever thought about it."

"When?" That was all she could utter. Allen's seriousness was contagious as pieces of memory came back to her and began forming a picture she hadn't seen before. A kiss on the cheek in the rain, angry words exchanged over her absence in the crowds at Allen's tournament and the last, largest piece – the afternoon at Marlene's villa when Allen had told her about Marlene's interest in him.

Eries had always assumed he'd been seeking some sort of permission from her for the romance. She was his friend and Marlene's sister. Who better to ask? Who would have more sympathy for the couple? That was all that talk had been about. He had wanted her understanding.

There had not been a choice woven into his words. There couldn't have been.

"Before I became involved with Marlene…before I even met her," he said. "I thought there was something between us, something more than friendship."

Eries only half-heard him. While Allen spoke to her in the present at Alucier's flat, she was also hearing Allen speak to her back at Marlene's villa. Words she had barely noticed then –_You two are so dissimilar. You're so stoic and independent_ – stood out and blended with others that he had just said – _That's why I chose Marlene, you know. Because I wanted to save her_ – and shook her certainty.

She had asked if he wanted her blessing. He had told her no, it wasn't like that. When he had added 'not yet', she had asked him if he would thought it would be that way in the future.

And he had told her he didn't know. He had only been able to tell her of Marlene's sadness.

Had that been an explanation? Or an excuse? Or a point for her to refute?

_You're so stoic and independent. That's why I chose Marlene._

Were past and present Allen really telling her that all the pain, confusion and regret of the last six years were bound to one moment, one conversation barely two minutes long?

"Allen, when you told me about you and Marlene at the villa," she began, her voice and hands shaking. "What were you really trying to tell me?"

Knowing what he knew now, Allen could see how difficult it would for Eries to hear this, how difficult it would be for him to say it. But being the person he was now, he knew she deserved to hear it. He owed her this – for what he felt for her and for the cowardice he had shown in the past.

He took her hands in his as he had done then. Unlike the past, he forced himself to meet her eyes. "I'm sorry, Eries. I realize how selfish and stupid I was then for putting it all on you and not even having the guts to ask you straight out but I didn't how you felt. All I knew was that Marlene wanted me. She needed me."

Eries tried to pull away but he wouldn't let her. She had aired her secret. His was long past due to be told, both to her and to himself.

"Please, Eries. Listen to me. I'm not trying to make excuses for how I handled things."

"You didn't handle anything at all!" Eries shouted. "You told me Marlene was interested in you and that you were interested in her. Was I really supposed to gather from some vague comment on how different the two of us were that it was my chance to stake my claim to you as well? Of all the moronic, childish, weak-"

"I know, Eries! I know how immature and insecure I acted. I should have known it then, but I couldn't see it. We were getting so close and then you joined the council and were hardly around anymore."

This time, Eries pulled free. It would have taken several knights to contain her fury. "Oh, you're right, Allen. I should have thrown away my seat on the council so I could follow you around and heap my adoration upon you."

"No, that's no what I…" Allen paused, conceding that Eries wasn't all that far off the mark. "All right, maybe that was what I wanted back then, but not anymore. Why do you think I want to be so supportive of your work on the summit now?"

Was he kidding? Did he really think playing cheerleader now would make up for what he hadn't done six years ago? Eries glared at him balefully, hoping to trigger more apologies and more self-deprecation from Allen. That wouldn't make up for anything either, but it would be more satisfying hearing Allen disparage his younger self than having to scream those insults at him herself. It was easier on her vocal cords too.

Allen tried – valiantly tried – to placate her. He repeated the charges of insecurity and immaturity and stupidity and added new ones. These charges were little more than rehashes of the old ones only with harsher terminology but it didn't matter to Eries. The quantity of Allen's groveling was just as important as the quality.

In time, even the great Allen Schezar can run out of ways to try to win a woman's favor. Defeated, he was left pleading, "Please, Eries. You have to understand that I had no idea how much I would wind up hurting you."

"That's your excuse for acting as you did then. What's your excuse now?"

"I don't know what you-"

"You don't know what I mean?" she yelled. "I mean, why are you telling me this now? After everything we've been through, after I told you how I feel, why would you say 'oh, by the way, if I hadn't been such a stupid, little fool, we might have been together years ago'?"

"How you _feel_?"

"How I _felt_. Stop putting words in my mouth."

Allen wasn't going to touch that, not yet. "I thought you should know," he said solemnly.

"Why?"

"The same reason why you thought I should know. You wanted everything out in the open so we could deal with it and move on. I thought you were right. My whole life I've run away from my problems. I tried saving others so I wouldn't have to save myself. But I don't want to be that person anymore. I don't think I am that person anymore. You've been a part of that change. I owe you for that. I owe you my honesty."

"Even if your honesty ends up hurting me?" The snarl she'd meant to throw into the question didn't quite make it in. Eries wasn't calming down by any means, but she was willing to hear more from Allen than apologies.

"I knew telling you would hurt you now, but I was afraid not telling you would hurt you more. You deserve happiness, Eries. We both do."

"And you think I'll be happy knowing I lost something I wanted without ever having had a real chance to find it?"

"You lost an opportunity, we both lost it, but that's in the past. We're here now. And sometimes, there are second chances."

The last of her anger disappeared, replaced by confusion and apprehension. When Allen reached for her hands again, she was too stunned to do anything but let him take them.

"I know you say your feelings for me are in the past," he began to say.

Eries didn't know if she could bear to hear him continue. "You cannot be doing this. You can't."

"And if I am?"

The logical response was that it didn't matter if he was. The logical response was 'princess', 'knight' and a whole lot of other words that Eries was sick of saying, sick of hearing. His past with Marlene, his almost past with Millerna, their past together and their present as friends. They'd reached a good place. Why move on when they were comfortable where they were?

They were so comfortable Eries had lashed out at her sister for implying they weren't where Eries said they were. She'd lashed out at Allen for reminding her how difficult the trip had been and for confessing they could have gotten there a whole lot sooner.

Well, not 'there' as in 'here where it's so comfortable', but 'there' as in where they could have been if things would have gone differently.

"Eries?"

It wasn't as if there was only ever one path to one destination. True, the straightforward path was blocked off when Allen made his choice all those years ago, but there could be another road. It would be long, doubling back on itself several times, appearing to dead end a few more times and a large length of it would be barely more than a faint trail, but if it got her where she wanted to go…

As long as it was where she wanted to go. She'd told Allen it wasn't. She'd told her father and Millerna it wasn't. She'd told herself it wasn't more times than she could count. She just had to say it one more time and she was sure that would be the end of it.

"Eries?"

'It doesn't matter' – that was the logical, safe, sane thing to say. All this nonsense about roads and paths and destinations was a confusing distraction. Why would she want to go back to something that had caused her so much pain? Just because she wanted to once, it didn't mean she should try it again later, second chances be damned. Just because, this time, she wouldn't be walking it alone, it didn't mean anything.

She wouldn't be walking it alone. That could mean everything.

Allen said her name one last time. "Eries?"

She forced herself to respond. She'd been arguing this in circles within herself for too long. It was only when she argued it with Allen that the words ever changed, that any progress was ever made. "You do know what you're asking of me? We talked about this the other night. You know what I said then."

"But that was just your confession to me. I hadn't told you everything yet. I hadn't even had a chance to think about what you told me."

"And now you're putting me in the same spot."

"I'm being unfair to you again, aren't I?" He didn't seem apologetic as he looked down at Eries' hands, still clasped firmly in his own. He was optimistic, smiling. "I won't rush your answer this time. You've waited so long. I can wait as long as you need."

It was almost tempting fate to ask, but her fate as far as any romance with Allen was concerned had been tempted, taunted, spat on and kicked up and down the coast of Asturia a couple of times. Fate could take one more shot and even if it couldn't, Eries had to know. "Why now, Allen? Is it because you feel responsible for my feelings for you? Are you trying to make it up to me by forcing yourself to return them?"

"I have never forced myself to care about you. I'm not trying to force anything now."

"Then what are you doing?" she demanded.

For the second time, Eries marveled at how Allen could possibly find her serious request to be something to grin at. She couldn't quite muster up the glare she'd given him earlier, but she earned marks for effort.

Allen let her hands go again, not in response to Eries' returning frustration but his own. Exasperated, he tried to make her understand. "This is harder than convincing you that you're beautiful, you know. You can't accept at face value that a man might wish to pursue you?"

"This particular man at this particular time? Yes."

"Then let's talk about a hypothetical man. He's been friends with this woman for years. They've shared everything – their thoughts, their hopes, their deepest secrets. One night, the hypothetical woman tells the hypothetical man that she was in love with him. Is it so inconceivable to you that the hypothetical man might start thinking of the hypothetical woman differently? That he might start wondering what it would be like to be with this woman as more than her friend? That he could love her too?"

"And in this scenario you've created, the hypothetical man suddenly realizes that he's been in love with the hypothetical woman all along and then they live happily ever after. That's wonderful for the two of them, but we're not hypothetical people living in some ridiculous sentimental novel. I can't accept that your feelings have magically changed."

"I'm not asking you to," Allen said. He hesitated explaining why, because he knew this wasn't the way things were supposed to go. But then, that was the best reason to give his explanation. It was the best way to convince Eries that the feeling he did have were real. "I'm not asking because…I don't believe that they have yet."

Eries wished they had been still holding hands. Then, she could have grabbed his and smacked him with them. "So this really is just a hypothetical situation for you? Let's drag Eries through the emotional mud and see what happens?"

"But I believe that they can change," Allen insisted. "And I believe it could be something wonderful if they did."

So there was no confession of his undying and hitherto hidden love. There was no sweeping her off her feet and setting her down at the final destination with all obstacles conveniently shunted aside. There was only Allen, so damned earnest to try and even more hopeful it could work. There was only Eries, too damned stubborn to admit that she felt that hope too.

In the great romances written, sung or performed on stage, the long-denied lovers seldom began their future together by declaring 'Hey, let's give it a shot. It might be fun'. Maybe it had unfolded that way in a comedy, something obscure and not well-reviewed, but nothing mainstream and certainly nothing featuring a mysteriously aloof princess and a dashing knight as the main characters.

But in terms of Eries and Allen, she had to admit it just might work.

"You're going to cry," Allen said, gently tracing along the top of her cheek with his fingertips.

"I am not," Eries claimed even as the tears soaked into Allen's glove. "Maybe a little. I think you can understand."

"Yes," he answered.

His fingers followed the trail of her tears down, settling at her chin so he could lift her face to meet his own. He held her in that gaze for a moment, for hours, for years, giving Eries all the time in the world to make her decision.

The world went dark and blissfully warm as Eries closed her eyes. When she opened them again, the world and Eries' eyes were clear, bright and joyful. "Let's give it a go then."

* * *

Author's Note: That didn't take too long, did it? I'm a little afraid to add up all the words I used to finally get to this point, but I'm honestly glad I did write them. Being able to dig through their past was a big help in getting their future moving. It also forced me to read through portions of 'Girl' I haven't looked at in years. There was an interesting balance of ego stroking 'Hey! I wrote that!' moments and equally humbling 'Ugh! I wrote that?' moments.

Next Up: 11 O'Clock Tick Tock. It's Fight Time with the Caeli tournament, round two as Allen and Eries go on their first date along with three unsuspecting escorts in the form of Alucier, Revius and Celena. Then it's more Fight Time as Allen beats up Van 'cause he's so much cooler than him. (Kidding.)(Not really :P)


	13. 11 O'Clock Tick Tock

Intrigues of a Princess

XII: 11 O'clock Tick Tock

Even as a young child, Eries Aston had always carried herself with a quiet dignity. There hadn't been any slumped shoulders or downcast, pouty faces from her. It had been shoulders back, eyes up and forwardly fixed. Little girls fidgeted and let themselves get distracted by every little thing that passed by. Eries had been a young lady – a princess – and young ladies have much higher standards.

Following these standards involved a strict adherence to a 'do and do not' list that was overly heavy on the 'do nots' and not particularly liberal with the 'dos'. The few 'dos' that did appear came off as 'do nots' in disguise. Do keep your voice down in public at all times. Do appear to in control of the situation. Do not rush. Ladies walk briskly, they do not run. And if you even think about skipping, have someone smack you with a copy of a book on etiquette until he or she knocks some sense into you.

As lengthy and complex as these rules were, Eries had never had any problems practicing them. But then, she'd never just had the man who had once been the love of her life pledge to try to regain his title. She'd never started a courtship which held the potential to give her a happy, fairytale ending. She'd thought she had outgrown even wanting a happy, fairytale ending by the age of eight, nine at the most.

She still didn't skip or sing out or giggle like a loon but for the first time, she understood why other women might want to.

Ingrained rules or not, Eries did want to do something more than walk two steps ahead of Allen as they returned to the palace, walk side by side or maybe dare to hold hands. They couldn't, of course. What they had said to each other in private had to stay there. They weren't in Alucier's flat or a dimly lit bar anymore. They were close to the palace, close to people who would recognize both of them immediately and be more than happy to share with other people any peculiar goings on between a princess and a knight.

Those old terms, and the limitations they created, were as valid as they always had been but at this moment, they no longer held the potency they used to hold for Eries. They were still obstacles, but they were obstacles for her and Allen to face together. They were not obstacles between her and Allen that kept them apart.

They were obstacles that could, hopefully, possibly, be overcome.

They just had to be overcome slowly. That meant keeping their courtship secret. That meant having Allen follow behind her as a protective guard would do. That meant biting down on the inside of her cheek to keep from grinning.

It would be hard work, but Eries was up to it. She did not wait this long and gone through so much to lose it because she celebrated too much. Honestly though, hiding it from her friends didn't bother her as much as it probably should. She did want to share her happiness; what she didn't want was the consequences of sharing. She was due for a slew of eye rolling and mutterings of 'I told you so' or 'not again' from Alucier. Revius couldn't be trusted to keep his mouth closed even if his jaw was wired shut. Jichia only knew what Celena would do with the information. The likeliest scenario involved many, many, many violations of the 'do and do not' list.

It did not bother her to keep it from her family. She could even claim safety concerns for not telling. Aston had come a long way in recovering from his stroke. It would not be fair to give him news that had a high chance of inducing another one (or an overly dramatic reenactment of one). Aston had taken small steps towards not viewing Allen as the scum of the planet. He was still very, very far away from viewing Allen as a decent person – or as a person actually. If a stroke didn't get Aston, there was still a good chance that a pack of guards driven into a righteous furor by the words of their supremely ticked off king might get Allen.

Eries thought she could be overestimating her father's bad reaction. She also thought she could be underestimating it. As unpredictable as he might be, Eries was utterly clueless as to how Millerna would react. She hadn't been reading her sister well lately as it was. The closeness they had forged after Millerna's return was beginning to feel transitory, the old distance on the verge of making a comeback.

Eries did not want that to happen. Unfortunately, she wasn't sure she could prevent it if Millerna found out about Allen before Eries had an opportunity to work things out with her. Even more unfortunately, that strategy would require more secrecy and more hypocrisy from Eries.

So no, it didn't bother her to keep it from her family. What bothered her is that she felt such need to keep it from them.

She pushed these thoughts aside. She and Allen hadn't even been together longer than an hour. She was not going to start this relationship with the same kind of agonizing that had preceded it. She was happy. She was hopeful. She wasn't naïve enough to believe there wouldn't be problems, but she thought she'd earned the right to be selfish enough to enjoy that happiness without any qualifications. At least for a little while. The doubts and dangers would rear their heads eventually. That's when she'd deal with them. There was no need to summon them right off the bat.

"We're almost back at the palace," Allen said. "Are you sure you're going to be all right with this?"

_Yes. Yes I am. _"I think I can restrain myself from blurting anything incriminating out in front of god and country."

"If you say so. I did see the corners of your mouth twitching upwards every now and then, but that was probably because you felt at ease with it only being the two of us out in the streets. Well, the two of us and those crowds of people walking by."

She was going to have to find a more effective method than cheek biting. Thinking of unpleasant images, perhaps. Turning around and seeing a similar grin upon Allen's face made her think those images were going to have to be more on the grotesque side if she had any hope of that working.

"You must have been watching me very closely," she noted.

"You're going to have to get used to that," he replied.

She was going to have to come up with something better than images. Recalling the time she sat in on one of Millerna's medical lessons and watched her sister dissect an animal didn't do a thing.

"Just be sure to watch yourself as well," she said. It was good advice, though for once, Eries, the epitome of composure, needed it more than Allen.

He didn't have any difficulties complying on their first test. As they entered the main courtyard, they spotted Alucier and Marqesita sitting on one of the benches by the fountain. Eries had figured the two would have reached Marqesita's quarters long ago. If she'd known Alucier was going to dally here, she and Allen could have stayed at the apartment longer.

Too late for that.

Her first impulse was to remark on what a lovely might it was, the sort of night perfect for, oh, say, a young couple to be out and about together under the stars, but she checked herself. Jokes aren't quite as funny to tell when the punchline describes the person telling them.

Alucier nonetheless seemed to be expecting that type of comment judging by how quickly he stood to greet the newcomers. "It's about time you two you showed up. We were waiting for you," he said.

This was news to Marqesita but she played along. "How fortunate you are that we are patient."

"Patient for what?" Allen asked, making him the second person to be lost. Eries qualified as the third, but she didn't advertise it. She was too preoccupied with wondering where Nuri had gone, if Marqesita had told Alucier about their plans and if she and Allen were standing too close together.

"I just thought the four of us could have a nice talk, that's all," Alucier said. "Say politics is always a hot topic."

That answered Eries' second question. She negated the third by shuffling a little to her right, ostensibly so she could better address Alucier. "I'm assuming Sita spoke to you. I'm also going to assume you realize the middle of the busiest courtyard in the palace is not the best place to discuss it?"

"Hmm, you're right. Maybe we could find a secluded table in a bar or something…"

Marqesita laughed. She wasn't as touchy about jokes that hit too close to home. It helped that she knew Alucier wasn't really mad. "I think we'll be fine out here. Alucier's only being his usual jesting self. Besides, we're in the clear. Fassa was out here earlier but he's since crawled back under the rock he calls home."

"What about Nuri en Freid?" Eries asked. "Where did he go off to? And more importantly, what sort of mood was he in when he left?"

"Oh, so you are interested in Nuri," Marqesita muttered. That had not been the impression she'd gotten from Eries at Tuvello's. Eries' focus then had been on a different man. If Marqesita had to guess, she'd say Eries' focus hadn't changed. That loopy grin on her face when she had entered the courtyard and how awfully close she'd been standing to Allen raised tiny, but distinct warning flags.

But Marqesita wasn't going to make a big deal of it or any sort of deal at all. She had her secrets too and Eries was being kind enough to keep them for her. And the important thing was to keep everyone's focus on Nuri.

"He's not the easiest man to read, but now that I've had a chance to think about it, I'm sure he's already decided to join us. He was asking questions about being detected, commenting on Fassa being with the Cesarians."

Alucier shook his head in disbelief. "And from that you get that he's signing up with you and Eries? What kind of man do you consider to be hard to read?"

The answer Marqesita wanted to give was 'Allen' because at the moment he had the stern poker face Eries was aiming for but falling a wee bit short on. That would be considered deal making though so Marqesita explained her theory on Nuri instead. "You've seen him in action – he's about the monkly honor and all that. I thought he'd jump out of his skin when that barmaid squeezed his shoulder. Anyway, if he were that horrified with the concept, he would have said so and stormed off to meditate or something. He wouldn't have walked back to the palace with me and Alucier. And rude as they were, the questions he asked at Tuvello's did seem geared towards ascertaining our character."

"You were rather upset with those questions, as I recall," Eries said.

"Because I hadn't a chance yet to think about it. As I said, now that I have had that chance, I think he was making sure he could trust us."

Eries wanted to share Marqesita's optimism, but the vast changes in her personal life didn't carry over to her outlook on her political life. "He didn't commit to anything. He put off answering us until tomorrow."

"Maybe _he_ needs time to think," Marqesita countered. "He doesn't have the history with us that we have with each other. If I were to make a leap of faith, I'd want to be damn sure I could depend on the people who are supposed to catch me."

Alucier coughed and mumbled that if you did a thorough investigation first it wouldn't be considered a leap of faith anymore. Not very chastened, Marqesita asked him how many Egzardian idioms he knew.

"I know some profanity," he said. It didn't count for much because Marqesita had been the one to teach it to him and she had left out some of the juicier words. She used one of those omitted terms to describe what she thought of people who nitpicked stupid points while missing the whole picture.

"Actually, it's called the bigger picture," Alucier corrected.

"Oh, really? You know I have another word I like to call people like you."

Eries figured now was a good a time as any to leave. She and Allen headed for the nearest door, not taking any heed of the distance between them, only caring about the distance from Marqesita and Alucier. Some Basramian (a language known for very coarse, very direct insults) was working its way into their discourse.

"I guess that's one way to flirt with each other," Allen said as he opened the door for Eries and looked back at the not unhappy but having a grand time pretending to be couple.

Eries watched them too. Alucier maintained a perfect expression of indifference while Marqesita was having a hard time not laughing. Eries was glad her friend could enjoy herself like that, if only for a night. As turbulent as Eries' life had been the past few days, Marqesita had it worse. She deserved to be with a man she cared about, a man who could make her forget about all her problems.

It put some things in perspective too. As a knight and a foreign princess (and possible queen), there was less hope for anything permanent ever working out for Alucier and Marqesita than there was for Eries and Allen, but they were still enjoying being together. Maybe they hoped for something more, maybe they didn't. Regardless, they still found comfort in each other as they were.

When Allen had asked to consider becoming more than what they were, Eries had thought she was making a leap of faith too. But under Alucier's strict definition, that wasn't the case. No matter what happened from now on, no matter what they became, if she fell, she believed Allen would always be there to catch her.

0-0-0-0

Despite the altered playing field, this morning's summit session wasn't much different for Eries from previous sessions. Politicians bickered. Meiden moderated. On the plus side, nothing earth-shaking was decided. Nothing was decided period. That was fine by Eries. Until she had her plans in place, do-nothing stalemates worked to her advantage by buying her time.

The Caeli tournament was the likely explanation for the unproductive session. The delegates knew they were only in it for half a day before the summit adjourned to allow them to attend the second round. They'd enjoyed the first. This round was bound to be even better with the weakest candidates already eliminated.

Eries was anticipating another afternoon spent in the royal box. Millerna had sent notice she'd be skipping out again and if Aston planned on attending, Eries would have heard about it. The palace gossip system would have been in overdrive discussing the return of the king.

Eries felt a pang of guilt over being happy that she wouldn't be with her family, but at the same time she was thankful. This was to be the first time she and Allen would be together since deciding to _be together_. It was bad enough it was going to be under the scrutiny of her and Allen's closest friends and a large chuck of the populace. Millerna and Aston would have been the straws that broke the camel's nerves and sent the camel running for the nearest stable to hide in.

Allen didn't appear to be the least bit nervous. Eries watched him from her seat as he stood by the doors of the Grand Hall and paid his respects to the politicians filing out. Marqesita did not linger today as she had when she had told Eries of her father's death. She left with her brothers instead, shaking her head in time with Bennor as Tellot jabbered excitedly about the upcoming fights.

Fanelia was the last delegation to leave. Van Fanel told Allen he was looking forward to their private match tonight. Merle affirmed that she believed it would be the most interesting fight she saw today if only because Fanel was much more skilled than any of the Caeli contenders. She used less words and more arm waving, but that's how Eries interpreted the catgirl's sentiments to make it easier to agree with them.

Eventually, the Hall contained only Allen, Alucier, a handful of guards, Eries and a Meiden Fassa that was taking forever to pack up his things. Eries asked him if he needed any help.

"You're so considerate, Princess, but you don't need to wait for me. I'm sure you're anxious to spend this fine afternoon with your guard."

There was no possible way Meiden could know what had happened between her and Allen last night and Eries would have sooner died than give him the satisfaction of thinking his ridiculous plan of assigning Allen as her private guard was successful. It hadn't been anyway. She and Allen were together now but it had nothing to do with anything Meiden had done and it was not going to distract her.

There was no way she would ever do something like dumping Nuri, a key figure in her plans, onto Marqesita so she could talk with Allen.

_Damn weasel. _He looked as if he were still up to his weasel ways too, so Eries couldn't vent as much of her irritation as she wanted. A weak jab would have to suffice. "The weather is lovely today. I'm sure I will enjoy this afternoon amongst all my friends. I gather you'll be sitting with your Cesarian comrades?"

"Alas, no. I have other business to attend to and I'll have to miss this round."

"And after you spent so much time preparing for this tournament. Such a shame."

"It is unfortunate, but even as I work on the business of the world, my world of business keeps turning."

He made a show of shuffling his papers about the table; he wasn't going to move until Eries did. She wasn't going to let Meiden wreck her afternoon by dragging this out. She let him win the childish exchange by default, bidding him a brisk 'enjoy your afternoon' and scuttling off so she could start to enjoy hers.

At the door, Alucier was deep in conversation with Allen. Eries thought they must be discussing important security issues. In actuality, Alucier was laying odds on a fight. Eries then thought they must be discussing the second round of the tournament. Again, she was proven wrong.

"I know Fassa would fight dirty, Allen, but I think Eries is more than capable of getting in some cheap shots of her own. You know how much she likes to work the shin."

"Excuse me," Eries coughed.

"Oh, sorry," Alucier said. "But we saw you two snipping at each other and I thought we were getting a warm-up for this afternoon."

"We were just exchanging polite formalities."

"Polite?"

"We were just exchanging formalities. Satisfied? Can we go now?"

The three met up with Celena outside the tournament stadium. She hadn't managed to get into the royal box early this time, likely because Revius was the Caeli dealing with her, not Lord Ramkin. He had been at his parents' house earlier and decided to give Gaddes a break by stopping in at the guest house and offering to escort Celena here.

Revius ended his explanation by remarking, "I have never seen a man so anxious to accept an offer."

"He has a lot of stuff to do back at our real house and you saved him some time," Celena argued.

"Saved him a headache too."

Celena retorted by sticking out her tongue. Allen fought all his natural impulses to lecture on ladylike behavior and settled on simply telling Celena that she wasn't being very polite. Revius had, after all, been kind enough to walk her to the stadium.

Celena, predictably, did not share Allen's view. "I think I can walk around Palas on my own. I probably would have gotten here faster too since we had to stop so much so he could talk to all these women. You should have this one woman. She was wearing, well, wearing isn't really the right term, this dress -"

"Hey, I think we should get to our seats." Revius interjected before Celena could complete her description and thus spur Allen into delivering a lecture on gentlemanly behavior.

It was an epic struggle and the complete description likely would have altered the outcome, but Allen did resist the urge. He thanked Revius instead for taking care of his sister, insisting that he had been so generous, he didn't need to feel as if he should ever repeat the favor.

"Ah, no problem," Revius said, letting the point sail on by without any attempt to get it. "I was happy to get out of the house. Dad was bouncing off the walls over this deal he made to get access to these rare gemstones from Egzardia. He's going to make a special collection! It'll be the talk of the industry!"

Eries got a good impression of how annoying Micha Revius' excitement must have been from how annoying his son was being in relating it. Revius had a complaint for every step it took to get to the royal box. Sitting down did not stop him from producing new ones. That feat was accomplished by Alucier smacking the back of Revius' head and telling him to shut up.

Celena was thrilled by the pre-tournament entertainment. Allen and Eries used the distraction to sidle by her so they could resume the seating arrangement they had for the first round. It made perfect sense, after all, for everybody to sit in the same spots.

Since it was so logical, Celena didn't go along. She insisted on sitting in the back row, claiming it had a better view. Revius disputed the notion, though his grounds for doing so were very technical and his motives were self-serving. If Celena sat in the back row, he would be able to spread out over the free seat. The lack of extra space might be okay in the beginning, but he might want food later and need a place to put it, or the fights might be boring and he'd need the space to nap.

He remained silent on these motives while expounding on how the minor step up in height from the front row to the back row didn't compensate for the extra distance from the field. All that was missing from his presentation was a diagram.

Celena's head went a little foggy from Revius' dubious equations, but Alucier saw right through him. "In other words, Celena, Revius hasn't learned how to share. But since I'm a grownup, I'll move down to the front row so you both can be happy."

"You really shouldn't indulge him," Eries said. She too had private motives. With Revius and Alucier sitting beside each other, they'd get too wrapped up in discussing the matches to pay any attention to her and Allen. She wasn't planning on doing anything worthy of suspicion, but it's nice to keep your options open.

"I know," Alucier agreed. "But if I don't, he'll start whining again, Celena will join in and our nice afternoon will be ruined by me committing a double homicide."

"I don't whine," Celena said in a pitch most associated with whining.

"And you couldn't kill me," Revius said.

"Okay, then I'll have Allen kill you."

"Yeah, but he's not going to let you kill his sister. And even if you did manage to do it, you'd just make him go all mopey and depressed and good gods, you remember how annoying that was when he lived with us."

Eries didn't like to pull rank with her friends. Once of the reasons why she valued them as she did was because they didn't place her up on a pedestal. She didn't want to climb up there on her own.

Sometimes though, that pedestal begged to be scaled. By semi-royal proclamation (Eries would need to fill out a scroll and put a wax seal on it to make it fully-royal), it was decided Alucier would stay where he was, Celena would sit next to him and Revius would get the isle seat so he could have the empty seat next to Allen to put his feet up on, store food in, or whatever else he thought was so necessary.

All and all, Eries was a fair and wise ruler. Allen thought she could have erred on the side of stern and harsh. "You could have taken the back row for ourselves and made them sit in front of us so we'd have more privacy," he whispered to her.

And that was why rulers have advisors; Eries hadn't thought of that. It was too late to change anything now. Lord Ramkin had taken the field and was touting the honor and skill of this round's combatants. He gave these young men a salute and hurried off to the sidelines so the fighting could begin.

There were only half as many swordsmen present today than in the first round, but the matches were still divided into two sub-rounds, the reasoning being that these matches would be higher in quality and thus needed to be watched more closely. Neither Eries nor Celena subscribed to that reasoning as they couldn't really discern much difference between a pretty good swordsman and a good swordsman.

They could pick the great ones out of the crowd. Sedgewick won his second match, taking only about a minute or two longer than he had in the first. The majority of spectators cheered the swift victory. Revius lamented that he had forgotten to place a bet in the pool being run by the palace guards.

Celena wasn't as forgetful, just mischievous. "Look, Allen, I brought a handkerchief!" She dangled it in front of her brother's face to prove she wasn't bluffing.

"That isn't funny, Celena," Allen said, in direct contrast to the evidence of both Alucier and Revius snickering. Even Eries dignified Celena's stunt with a wry smile.

That betrayal did not go unanswered. Sensing she had an ally, Celena produced a spare handkerchief and offered it to Eries. "Take it, Eries. We can pick out which guy to wave it at."

"I don't think that's a good idea," Eries said.

"Come on, it'll be fun. Just look at how pink Allen's face is getting."

Celena knew how to put together a convincing argument when she felt like it. The blush rising on Allen's were almost incentive to take handkerchief in hand. Almost. Eries had more to consider than her private amusement. "No, Celena. I'm a princess. I can't be waving around handkerchiefs as a joke. I might offer something as a token to the man who gave the best performance today, but anything more might raise too many eyebrows."

"Pleeeeeeaaaaaase?"

To emphasize her point, Celena switched from dangling the handkerchief in front of Allen to in front of Eries. Thinking that smile had egged Celena on, Eries thought she'd better wrap up the handkerchief business quickly. She swatted the cloth away, causing it to flutter down into Allen's lap.

"Does that count as a choice?" Revius asked.

Without answering, Allen pocketed the handkerchief and politely requested that Celena to do the same. If he had to speak again, he wouldn't be polite and it wouldn't be a request.

Celena got the message and slumped back in her chair. "You two are no fun."

"I don't want you joking about something you don't fully understand," Allen explained. "As we told you last time, there are implications to that action that I don't think you're ready to deal with."

"Yeah, and I said what those implications were and Eries said I was right. I think guy is cute, I wave handkerchief. Guy sees handkerchief and decides whether I'm cute too."

"Allen cuts guy into tiny, little pieces," Revius added. "The end."

Allen scowled at Revius. He was perfectly capable of scaring guy off without having to resort to violence. "As I recall, Eries said you were basically right. There's more to it than that."

"That sounds familiar, as if you've said it to me several hundred times before."

"Celena…"

Though Eries hadn't been much help with the handkerchief, Celena reached out to her again. Girls had to stick together, didn't they? "Eries, can't you make Allen understand I'm only trying to have a little fun? I know a lot of girls my age are starting to look for husbands and be all serious, but I don't care about that. You're so much older and you're not married, so you know what I'm talking about."

In terms of solicitations for help, Celena's plea ranked only slightly better than those from charities that would take your money in one hand and give you a flyer demanding more funds with the other. The sheer size of the assumptions made, coupled with the unintentional dig at Eries' not-really-that-old maid status, gave everyone in the box pause. Allen didn't want to touch the notion of casual relationships being better than serious ones because then he'd actually have to explain the difference. Eries was in a similar quandary.

Revius didn't know which joke to make first. Alucier had several on the tip of his tongue, but was internally torn about making them.

"What?" Celena asked. "Did I say something wrong?"

"You said many things wrong," Alucier answered. "Many, many things."

"What were they, then? Eries isn't married. And from what Aelia's explained, it was perfectly normal for Princess Millerna and a whole bunch of other Asturian princess to get married at my age and since Eries is older, it must mean she doesn't want to. All she does is spend time with my brother. You're not planning on marrying him, are you, Eries?"

While the rest of the crowd roared at a stunning reversal performed by one of the Caeli hopefuls, the occupants gaped silently at Celena – some in shock, some in confusion, some because they knew the smallest amount of sarcasm uttered at such a delicate moment could result in injury.

Celena felt none of the above and kept talking. "That would be kind of neat though. You could stay at the house all the time or we could stay at the palace when we wanted to. The Revius guesthouse is nice, but the palace is a lot nicer. No offense, Revius."

"Uh, huh," Revius mumbled. He thought he was blunt. He, clearly, had never been blessed to hear a master. Celena was blunt like a block of wood to the head.

In his defense, Revius usually used his bluntness for a calculated effect – to drive home an argument, to get a laugh, that sort of thing. Celena was chucking wood blocks without regard to who got smacked upside the head.

Or was she? Revius couldn't help but notice her babbling had ceased and she was now awaiting answers from Allen and Eries. He also couldn't help but notice that the two of them were being slow to respond. Hadn't they spent the last couple of days dragging pieces of the past out of the dirt and saying how okay they were with everything now? Eries had had her outburst during the first round of the tournament but seemed normal after that. Why were they being so weird about something they had talked and talked and talked about?

Revius remembered something else that happened during the first round. He'd made a piddling little slip of the tongue about calling Allen and Eries not-yet-lovers and they'd had a hissy fit over it. This time it was the lack of a fit, hissy or otherwise, that was giving away…well,_ something_.

His instinct was to pontificate at length on what this something could be. His instinct, however, was curbed by his desire not to hear Alucier repeat the phrase 'don't you know how to shut your mouth' over and over again. His curiosity was saying 'To hell with it! I want to know!'. His logic remained silent on the issue, allowing instinct and curiosity to gang up on desire. Alucier's lectures were easy to tune out anyway. He'd had so much experience, after all.

Unfortunately, Alucier's lecture targeted Celena instead. While it made it easier for Revius to ignore, it derailed the conversation before Revius could get it on track in the first place.

"You're being silly, Celena," Alucier said. "Just because something would work out in your best interests doesn't mean it's in everybody else's."

"So what is Eries' interest?"

_Oh, she's good_, Revius thought. He upgraded his doubt as to whether Celena was doing this intentionally to 'likely'.

Eries agreed with him. She had the distinct feeling that she was being led up another tree. This time, she refused to get on the first branch. "My interest is in watching the remainder of this round without hearing any more deeply inappropriate remarks. I honestly have no idea what's gotten in to you."

Eries really wanted to know too. There was no chance Allen would have told his sister what had happened last night. He had been so good at playing calm around Alucier and Marqesita last night. He wouldn't have let down his guard around Celena of all people. He loved his sister but he didn't have any delusions about her ability to keep a secret.

"Nothing's gotten into me," Celena insisted. "I was just asking questions."

"You were asking rude questions," Allen countered. "I don't care what your excuse is. You do not pry into people's private lives like that. If Eries wanted to share it with you, she would have shared it with you."

"But-"

"No excuses, Celena. Your joke with the handkerchief was one thing, but this crosses a line."

Allen was supposed to be firm with Celena when she was in one of her moods, but being able to cite the text that supported that stance didn't make him feel less guilty when Celena sank back in her seat and affected a pout that was too sullen to be entirely authentic but he fell for anyway.

"Celena, I'm not trying to be harsh."

She muttered something unintelligible in response. Alucier's best guess was 'I hate to see it if you did try'. Revius thought she threw in a 'jerk' there somewhere.

Act or no act, something had to be done. Eries seized command again, falling back on the old standard of sending the problem away for awhile so it could be discussed openly. "The break between rounds is coming up. Why don't you take the chance to go to the food stalls as you did in the other day?"

"Getting rid of me again," Celena sighed. She was not so melancholy that she didn't take the suggestion. "Fine, I'll go. But I'm spending extra at the dessert stalls."

Eries gestured for both Alucier and Revius to go with her. "Fine, I'll go," Revius mimicked. "But I'm spending extra at the meat stalls."

Eries would have gladly handed over bags of money if it meant they would go away and stay there – not permanently of course, but long enough to give her and Allen time to salvage something of this afternoon.

"I thought this tournament might be exciting," Allen said after they finally did leave, "but I didn't expect it to be this exciting."

"We seem to be in a pattern. Watch the fight, hear Celena say something outrageous, become outraged, send them off."

"Then reconcile and enjoy the afternoon."

Optimistic Allen still pleasantly surprised Eries when he came around. She sort of hoped the effect wouldn't wear off. Optimistic Eries usually came out to join him in response. "Well, we don't have anything to reconcile except maybe why your sister chose now of all times to say such a thing. Why don't we skip to enjoying the afternoon?"

He was tempted, but Allen knew if he started enjoying the afternoon too much, Celena would be that much more inquisitive when she came back. Reconciliation came first. "I swear I didn't tell her anything. I hardly saw her when I came home last night and when I left for the palace this morning."

"So where did she get the idea?" Eries was puzzled. Allen hadn't said anything. She hadn't said anything. "Is it something we're doing?"

Allen believed Eries had been a tad giddy when they had talked to Marqesita and Alucier, but today, she was in fine acting form. Besides, if they had been giving off any kind of signal Alucier and Revius would have been all over it. The meat stalls could have been handing out free samples and they couldn't have been dragged away by an entire herd of wild horses.

Eries was inclined to agree with this theory but she couldn't let go of the notion that Celena's random questions weren't that random. "Maybe it's like one of those whistles that only certain animals can hear. We have some subtle change that no one else hears, but Celena can pick up on right away."

"Are you comparing my sister to an animal?"

"I was only…" Eries began to explain herself better but saw Allen was kidding. "This is serious. We can't afford anyone knowing, especially anyone with a propensity to blather things out at the absolute worst moment."

"So that rules out Celena and Revius. But what about Alucier? Do you really want to keep this from him? You saw how little he cared about your meeting with Nuri."

Despite the closeness and the openness they had achieved since renewing their friendship, Eries never had properly informed Allen of all the discussions she and Alucier had had that he'd been the center of. The sheer number of them was daunting by itself. Going over the content was an even more thankless task. There were only so many times Eries could hear the same thing over and over without wanting to smack something.

"I'm not ready to tell him, Allen – not until there really is something to tell. Whenever that will be," she added with a sigh.

"We're not off to a very promising start, are we? The way this afternoon has gone, it doesn't feel as if anything has changed."

Eries almost agreed with him, but then took a second look – at his soft smile, at how his eyes met hers, at how his hand was almost touching hers. At that moment, she couldn't have cared less about what Celena had said or what anyone might ever say in the future. "No," she said. "Everything has changed."

Their box-mates returned just as the second round of matches began. Neither Celena nor Revius had been kidding about the amount of food they were planning to buy. Allen had to lunge out of his seat to stop a box of chocolates that had fallen off Celena's stack of goodies from hitting the ground.

The saving of the chocolates meant that Celena would have more to eat so Allen felt obligated to say something about her diet. "You can't possibly eat all of this."

"Can't as in I couldn't physically do it or can't as in you won't let me try?"

"Can't," Alucier answered for Allen, "as in we'll get sick from watching you eat all that crap. I tried to stop her Allen, but she insisted she was buying some as gifts and then Revius was short on change and I had to help him pay for that side of beef he's calling a single sandwich. Next thing I knew, she was a walking candy shop."

"They are gifts! Aelia really likes chocolates." Celena did not connect these two statements with a 'therefore, I will give Aelia these chocolates' – a technicality she was likely to exploit – but Allen didn't challenge her. She might use the excuse of not being able to eat to speak on things he'd rather not here spoken. Instead, he set a limit on how much she could get to by putting everything on the empty seat beside him.

He smuggled a box over to Eries. The shopkeeper had labeled the contents as liqueur filled chocolates. "Remember when you bought some of these for your father when we went to Egzardia?" he asked as he picked out one coated with cocoa powder.

"I believe you ended up throwing them at me."

Allen was aghast at the accusation. "You believe incorrectly. I threw them at that sand village you were building. _You_ threw them at me."

Clearly, some begging for forgiveness was due. "I apologize for my faulty memory. I must have recalled you threatening me with the act and assumed you had gone through with it. Of course you would never commit such violence against me."

"Never." This proclamation was shortly followed by Eries feeling a light tap against her shoulder and witnessing a chocolate roll down into her lap, a cocoa trail marking its wake.

"It must have slipped out of my hand," Allen said.

Yes, everything had changed.

0-0-0-0

The remainder of the afternoon passed uneventfully, unless one counted the near loss of the young swordsman formally known as Skinny Blond Farmboy with Big Nose, who now had the last name Ginebra attached to him. Alucier was insistent on calling the boy by the name his parents had given him. Revius was insistent on calling him by the nickname he had given him because: one, it was more fun and two, it was hard keeping all the names of the guards straight, let alone some wannabe who might not even make it.

"You're the one who pointed him out in the first place as a contender!" Alucier argued.

"So, that doesn't mean I looked up his biography or anything. I just found out who the good fighters were from Seclas so I could make some bets - I mean, be well-informed about my possible future brother-in-arms."

"How do you pick a guy for the pool without even knowing his name?"

"Duh, not everybody knows his name but everybody can see that giant nose from a mile off."

"You said something about a pool earlier. What is it?" Celena asked sweetly.

Alucier and Revius took a break from their bickering to consider. The question was loaded – with the possibility that Celena knew full well what a pool was and was only trying to provoke Allen and with another possibility that she really did not know and was being curious. Sating that curiosity would wind up provoking Allen too, so they chose the only safe path available to them: pretending they didn't hear Celena and going back to bickering.

"Oh, come on!" Celena begged. "It's just a simple question!"

Eries glanced at Allen, who shrugged. Celena was going to keep asking until she got an answer she liked. She was already acquainted with the concept of gambling from her card games with Gaddes, explaining how a pool worked shouldn't do too much damage.

Celena's immediate reaction was to demand to get in on the action. Allen vetoed that motion with an alacrity that would have done a seasoned councilman proud.

"Revius does it," Celena argued in her defense.

"Oh, sweetie," Revius laughed, "even I know that's just going to make him say 'no' that much louder.

Revius was completely, one-hundred percent correct. Even Alucier joined in on the disapproval. "You know, there really shouldn't be any betting going on at all. Lord Ramkin was upset when he overheard two guards talking about it."

Revius didn't like the sound of that. He'd missed this round's pool. He'd hate not being able to make up for it. "When did he say that? Why would he say that?"

"When I was giving him my morning briefing on summit security. And I think he told me because he knows you're my roommate and he knows this is exactly the kind of thing you'd be in on."

"You're still not answering my question 'why?'."

Alucier affixed his best 'I'm being serious as death here' glare. "Quit being stupid. And don't bet on the next round. If it gets back to Lord Ramkin that you were betting and I knew about it…"

"All right, sorry," Revius said. He knew the implications. Talk about the next commander of the Caeli had died down in favor of who would win the tournament but that didn't mean Lord Ramkin wasn't still weighing his choices for successor. "I will forgo my potential winnings to support your cause."

With everything else that had been going on, Alucier's campaign for the commander post had almost slipped from Eries' thoughts. It definitely wasn't present in any of her deeds. She offered to make up for her neglect in any way possible.

"Don't worry about it," Alucier said. "Besides, I'd rather win this thing on my own, even if it means having to miss something like Allen's sparring match tonight so I can go to Lord Ramkin's manor and suck up over dinner."

His lack of enthusiasm for the dinner was contrasted by Celena's interest in the match. That sounded better than betting and nobody had told her about it. It never occurred to her that there might be a reason for that. "So who are you fighting? When are we going? Can I bet on this fight?"

She had more questions but other than the first one, Allen could pretty much answer them all by saying 'no' over and over. He broke the monotony by informing Celena that she was going home, end of story.

"But, Allen…"

Allen was loathe to ask Revius to take her back to guest house after their adventure earlier, but he was afraid that an unescorted Celena would get 'lost' and end up walking to the palace instead.

Alucier volunteered for the task. "Lord Ramkin's place isn't that far away from the Revius'."

"But, Alucier…"

"So," Revius drawled, "that leaves the three of us for tonight. Do you want to stop for dinner somewhere first?"

Eries and Allen adopted Alucier's death glare. The last thing the delicate negotiations with Fanel needed was Revius hanging around, yapping on and on despite the foot in his mouth. And they had been hoping to get dinner together alone. Revius intruding on that was more frightening to Eries than the intrusion into the meeting with Fanel.

But playing it cool would require dealing with an unwelcome playmate. They'd had countless meals with Revius before, one more wouldn't hurt them.

The wait to be alone, on the other hand, was, to put it colloquially, a pain in the ass.

0-0-0-0

Having a third wheel along for dinner was good practice for dealing with the dozen or so wheels that had shown up for the sparring match. By the time Eries arrived at the roof of the palace, the formerly private duel had snowballed into a small party.

Fanel had brought Merle and his advisor, Megid. Marqesita hadn't brought and was desperately trying to get rid of Tellot. There were even some handmaidens clustered near Fanel as he ran through some basic movements to get warmed up. Eries thought about dispatching Revius to get them to leave but concluded if the women inched any closer to Fanel, Merle would drive them away in a fit of hissing and scratching. That would clear the roof real quick.

With that problem on the verge of solving itself, Eries went over to Marqesita. "Why are there so many people here?" she whispered to her.

"Really, I hadn't noticed." The unexpected crowd had put her in a bad mood. Trying futilely to get her immovable object of a brother to go away had laced the bad mood with acid. Her explanation for this turn of events had more than a touch of a rant to it. "My brothers and I were behind Fanel and his catgirl friend while waiting to get out of the stadium this afternoon. Tellot was making small talk – because God knows he's not capable of big talk – and eventually Fanel said something about this duel tonight. Tellot got all excited and whiney and asked if he could watch. I couldn't exactly scream at him 'It's private, you moron! Go away!' without anybody getting suspicious so I had to go along with it and drag the big lump here. He picked up the harem of handmaidens on our way here."

It was a good thing Eries was in an upbeat frame of mind. She tried to get some of those good spirits to rub off. "I don't see where this is a problem really. We were going to wait until after Allen and Fanel were through to discuss everything anyway. Now, with everybody watching, we'll have the cover we need to 'prove' this is an innocent sparring match between friends."

"I suppose," Marqesita agreed half-heartedly. "We'll still have to find some way to keep Tellot from cheering 'Do it again! One more round!' so he doesn't drag this out too long."

Marqesita then took a good, long look at the edge of the roof. Eries coughed politely to get her to refocus on their strategy for tonight.

Marqesita apologized. "The stress must be getting to me. We have so much to do and when we're done, there's even more waiting. It doesn't help that Tellot and Bennor are being their usual charming selves about everything."

Her voice caught and Marqesita had to turn away.

"This is about more than Van Fanel, isn't it?" Eries asked.

"I guess I owe you another apology. We're not supposed to be thinking about out personal problems right now and I've been trying, but my brothers, even when we're all alone, are acting as if nothing's happened. And I think it's terrible. And then I think how I've been acting around Alucier and that I'm no different than them."

"Sita…"

She wouldn't hear of any words of consolation though. Marqesita gave herself one more moment of weakness then quickly swept it aside. "I can't be doing this now. We've got plans and we've got an audience."

She wasted no time starting her performance, grabbing Revius by the arm as he walked by and insisting he provide commentary for the duel. He was supposed to be an expert on these things so who better to do it?

Revius hadn't planned on being an announcer, but Eries hadn't planned for him to be here at all. Keeping him busy was a smart move. It paid out dividends immediately. Tellot overheard his sister gushing about Revius' skills and became rapt with attention.

Eries would have written it off as a boy being a boy, but even the handmaidens gravitated towards Revius as he added his own boasting to Marqesita's accounts. Fanel was relieved to see them go. Merle relaxed her claws.

Revius was in typical form. He introduced the two combatants with a flourish, assigning Fanel the role as the precocious and hungry underdog and portraying Allen as the seasoned pro. Merle's claws came out again. The rest of the audience seemed to enjoy the manufactured drama, eating up every word of the biography he made up for Fanel. It did actually resemble reality – he was a young king who took on Zaibach to save the world and there was a charming damsel from the Mystic Moon involved – but those details went through the kind of embellishment usually reserved for epic poetry.

Fanel rolled his eyes but otherwise said nothing. A hint of blush did rise on his cheeks when Revius began attributing Fanel's valor in battle to the calm his great love for the aforementioned Mystic Moon damsel brought him.

Allen motioned to Revius to shut up, but that merely caused him to change subjects. Now it was Allen's turn to fight for love and honor.

Nuri en Freid chose to show up at the moment when Revius delivered an off-color joke about just how many women in Palas Allen was fighting for. Eries was glad to see him despite the bad timing.

"I was under the impression this was to be a sparring match, Princess, not a circus," he said.

"Revius has that effect on things."

"Isn't he in charge of the palace guard?"

"He's much more serious when he's on duty," Eries chirped through clenched teeth.

"But he's wearing his Caeli uniform now."

So he was but Eries was spared having to come up with a technicality that justified it by the start of the match.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Revius announced, "for tonight only, on the roof of the palace in the heart of Palas, Asturia, the Order of the Knights of Caeli and the kingdom of Fanelia are proud to present –"

Allen didn't motion for Revius to shut up. He flat out told him to.

"Anyway," Revius continued, "are you gentlemen ready?"

Yes, the gentlemen were very much ready to take sword in hand and start attacking. They were also ready to begin sparring.

"Is everyone in the crowd ready?"

Tellot actually made a 'whoo' sound. Marqesita hit him harder than any of the blows Allen and Van Fanel would be exchanging tonight.

"FIGHT!"

The combatants ignored the command. They were going to do things their way. They bowed respectfully to each other, took several paces backwards to give them space to maneuver and readied their swords. Fanel nodded, then Allen and then they began.

Eries assumed there were a lot of technical sword type things occurring, but all she could really make of it was a basic thrust, parry, thrust, dodge, counter pattern. Revius was providing explanation for the moves but he was also making it sound as if Fanel and Allen were performing in a stage show.

Despite his circus comment, Nuri seemed to be enjoying the fight. When the first match ended with Allen executing a dodge that brought him around to Fanel's back and in position to deal what would be a killing blow had they been in actual combat, Nuri applauded along with everyone else. Everyone else except Merle, that is.

While the small crowd clapped, Fanel and Allen used the opportunity to catch their breaths before starting round two. Eries used the opportunity to engage Nuri in conversation. "I thought I might be bored of watching swordfights after the tournament this afternoon, but this is proving to be quite interesting. I take it you are enjoying yourself as well?"

"I could do without the commentary. Their actions speak well enough for them."

Eries dropped the super-polite formality. "So you can follow what they're doing?"

"Easily enough," Nuri chuckled. "I did do a substantial amount of training myself when studying to be a monk. I'm not on their level, but at least I can accurately say what their level is."

"Then would you be so kind as to elucidate what is going on when they resume?"

Nuri obliged, describing for Eries the action of the next match in much plainer language than Revius. Without the confusing terms or any over-the-top showmanship in his commentary, Eries could actually grasp why when Allen moved one way, Van Fanel moved another. She understood his explanation as to why Fanel, who was being the aggressor, was more likely to win if the match ended quickly and more likely to lose if it dragged on. This understanding wasn't much use when the two fought for three times as long as the first time and a draw was declared when both men placed jabs that would have incapacitated the other.

"But sometimes, everyone loses," Nuri said.

"Or everybody wins," Eries said.

"Not in a battle, Princess. You cannot claim much of a victory when you lie bleeding next to your foe on the field."

"True enough, which is why it is so important to go into battle fully prepared."

"And that includes having as many allies as possible, yes?"

"Should I bother insisting that I wasn't going to try to make that point?"

Nuri chuckled again. "No."

The third match began with much fanfare from Revius. The original agreement had been to do three matches and call it a night. They weren't going to keep score. But that had been decided before Revius had been factored in. Now this final match was being advertised as Fanel's last chance to save face or go home in disgrace. Allen shrugged and told Fanel to ignore it. Merle, unfortunately for Revius, did not receive the same advice.

It wasn't as if she would have heeded it anyway.

No matter how spectacular a third bout between Fanelia's samurai king and Asturia's most skilled Caeli would have been, it never could have matched the spectacle of an enraged catgirl choking Asturia's second most skilled Caeli. Merle had the advantages of surprise, claws and Revius' modified code of chivalry that said while women could be hit on with utmost vigor, actually hitting them was one of those big sins that really cheesed off Jichia.

Merle's fury was as brief as it was intense. Once she had spoken her mind, she left Revius at peace (and the cravat of his uniform in several pieces). She resumed her place beside the suddenly distraught Megid, awaiting the third match. It would start as soon as Allen, Van Fanel, Revius and everybody else stopped staring at her. That should be any time now.

Eventually, activity did resume. The third match was shorter than the second one, but ended with the same result. Revius did not mention that this meant Allen was the overall winner. Two out of three were draws. The majority – or a minority that would hiss and scratch – should rule.

This satisfied everyone, most of all Fanel. Two draws were the best he'd ever done against Allen in a man-to-man fight. Guymelef to guymelef was a different story but that wasn't a victory he counted, let alone savored.

"Nice match," he said to Allen, offering his hand.

It had been a nice match, a little too nice on Van's part, but Allen wasn't going to begrudge his friend's improvement, despite how surprising it had been. "I'm amazed you've still had the time to get so good with how busy you've been with Fanelia's reconstruction."

"You know how disappointed Balgus would be if I didn't get some practice in every day. I'd rather get up early every morning than rile his spirit."

"He deserves his rest," Allen said softly, "but I think he wouldn't have minded haunting this place for one night so he could see how far you've come."

"And I wouldn't mind seeing him again," Fanel replied. He didn't need to though. He could feel the pride his old swordmaster had for him just through the words of a fellow student.

The moment was lost when Tellot loudly asked it was over. Marqesita ensured that the fight was over, at least for him, by pulling a handmaiden aside and informing her that it was Eries' wish that she would lure Tellot away. The handmaiden couldn't refuse a royal request, even one that hadn't strictly been issued by her royalty, but neither would she ever presume a visiting royal would be so uncouth as to lie about such a thing.

Technically, Marqesita hadn't been lying. Eries was happy to see Tellot and the entire pack of handmaidens leave. That left Fanel's advisor and Merle to be gotten rid of and, of course, Van Fanel to be convinced to stay.

Allen took care of the latter. "What do you say to practicing tonight so you can sleep in tomorrow, Van?"

It sounded like a good idea. He was warmed up, had everything he needed. He thought it might be nice to train with Allen instead of against him.

In good faith, Fanel agreed and began taking practice swings. Megid saw no need to stay any longer but Merle settled in to watch. Making her go away wasn't going to be easy.

At least, it wouldn't be easy for Eries and company. A simple request from Fanel could get her to leave – reluctantly, unhappily, but leaving nonetheless. Eries was thinking of the best way to broach the subject when Allen again stepped up to the task.

"Actually, Van, there's another reason why I asked you to spar tonight. Princess Eries and Princess Marqesita would like to speak with you…candidly, I might add."

_Bluntness must be becoming a trait of the Schezar family_, Eries thought.

Fanel regarded Allen for a moment, as if determining whether he'd talk or not by how earnestly his friend wanted him to. He decided Allen was being very sincere.

"Merle, this is going to take awhile. You'll get bored. Why don't you go back to your quarters and I'll see you tomorrow morning."

From her past behavior, Eries expected some amount of protest from Merle – she'd latch on to his arm like a vice at the very least – but other than huffing briefly, she complied. Revius volunteered to escort her. Alucier wasn't the only friend he would support, even if being supportive meant missing out on the juicy bits.

That left Eries, Allen, Marqesita, Nuri and Van Fanel with the roof to themselves and the rest of the night to plan.

Fanel sheathed his sword. "So what do you want?"

No sense pondering the rules of etiquette now. Fanel didn't want any preamble and he didn't want to be buttered up. Eries took a cue from Allen's directness and got straight to the point.

"Princess Marqesita and I believe it's in the best interest of both Gaea and our own countries to agree on the direction we would like the summit to follow before others have a chance to steer it too far off course."

"And those 'others', they'd be the delegates who aren't here?"

"Correct," Eries said. "And I think you should know exactly the type of course they wish to take."

Eries again relayed the vague plans Meiden had spelled out for her. This version was harsher than before as it had the double duty of persuading Fanel completely and getting Nuri off the fence.

Success on one front was almost immediate. "I don't like that Fassa man," Van said. "He set me up in that melef fight when I first came to Palas and I always thought he was behind Hitomi's kidnapping. She told me about the way he looked at her when you had that dinner together."

Eries confirmed his suspicions. "Shortly after the incident, I heard my father berating Meiden for 'not being able to leave that Mystic Moon girl alone'."

It merely reinforced something he already believed but with that last chunk of information, Van was ready to join the cause.

"Aren't you more curious about her motives?" Nuri asked when Van declared his intentions.

Van turned to Allen. "You trust her, don't you?"

"Completely."

"Good enough for me."

Nuri could waffle all he wanted. The swift recruitment of Van Fanel was an unexpected but immense relief. And it made Eries feel positive that, in the end, she'd be able to get Nuri too.

The monk must have sensed the inevitability as well. He made some comments on the dubious nature of the partnership, but spoke nothing of not joining it. He never said outright that he was signing on either, but his declaration that he could only influence Freid's vote, not cast it was as official as he was going to get.

Marqesita, who had called Nuri's acquiescence the night before, allowed herself to revel a bit. "That's not why we wanted you. We thought Duke Chid would probably side with us if left to his own devices. We wanted to make sure you didn't unduly influence him against us."

"So I am now to unduly influence him for you?"

"Now you're getting the hang of this politics business."

"Sita…" Eries cautioned.

But it was of little use and less purpose. Marqesita had read Nuri successfully again. He was no more serious in his comment than she was in hers. He laughed once and shook his head. "At least I will be able to say I have been honest about my dishonesty."

"We're not being dishonest, we're being secretive." In case semantics weren't good enough, Marqesita went one step further. "And you don't have to be all that secretive. Feel free to tell the Duke your opinions. You can even tell him where they came from."

"My opinions come from within, Princess. I never pledged blind loyalty and you should not expect it."

"We don't," Eries assured him. She gestured to Van Fanel to include him in this as well. "We're merely asking for to consider our positions and to share yours with us so that we can reconcile them into something that is mutually beneficial to all of us."

"And mutually harmful to those that oppose us," Van muttered. He was gaining as much insight into politics as Nuri.

Eries couldn't deny he was right. "That would be the other side of the coin. But you know our interests are the greater good, not our own power."

"I know. Allen never would have sided with you otherwise." Van took off his gloves, tucked them behind the scabbard for his sword. Physically, he was done for the night. Verbally, he had one last shot to impart. It was delivered to Eries in a whisper as he passed by her on the way to the stairs. "And neither would I. Keep that in mind while making your plans."

So his decision wasn't as enthusiastic as it had been quick. Eries wasn't worried. As long as she kept on the right path, Fanel would follow her. She had no intention of straying.

Nuri trailed after Fanel; neither man was a big believer in saying their goodnights.

Regardless of the abrupt departures, Marqesita was thrilled with their new allies. "It's working, Eries. It's really working. We're in control now instead of letting others control us."

Eries thought she was reading more power into their situation than there actually was, but then again, Marqesita's – and Egzardia's – situation was a great deal more unstable than her own.

Allen walked both of them to their quarters. Marqesita's were first with the objective being to drop her off quickly so Eries could enjoy a long, slow trip up to her room with Allen. Marqesita though was still enjoying the night's victory and Eries didn't have it in her heart to cut short the celebrating. It was well past most people's bedtimes when they left.

Tired, they took the straightest path to Eries' quarters. The corridor was empty; the moonlight streaming through the windows only had Allen and Eries to illuminate. That was rather how Eries liked it.

She said goodnight once, then again when Allen stood still, not saying anything in response, only watching her with a smirk that was a tad too mischievous to be called a smile.

"You don't want to leave?" she asked. She shared the sentiment.

"No, I don't. But I know I must." The smirk went from mischievous to bordering the edges of devilish.

"Then go," she said, pushing at him teasingly.

"You really don't know how this works."

It was a statement with no room for argument. No time for any either as Eries had barely opened her mouth to protest only to have it closed by the brush of Allen's lips against hers.

"Now I can go," he pronounced.

"Mmpff," Eries said. Her day had been entirely too eventful for intelligibility.

* * *

Next up: 'Mysterious Ways'. Eries takes a chapter off as conspirators discuss their plans and Meiden Fassa gets the news he's been waiting for. Since the chapter is super short (by my standards) and already finished, it'll be up in two weeks. I'm hitting a spate of shortish chapters overall, so the bi-weekly schedule will probably last for the next three chapters. There, don't say I didn't get you nothing for Christmas. :P


	14. Mysterious Ways

Intrigues of a Princess

XIII: Mysterious Ways

Though not as esteemed as the old Caeli bar, Tuvello's, Duckett's Tavern three streets down shared many of the amenities of its rival. The food was good, the drink was excellent and both were served by wait staff that made the 'fair' in the phrase 'fairer sex' into a vast understatement. Duckett's was slightly smaller than Tuvello's but – having started out as a small restaurant that grew via additions built on wherever the owners could find available space – it featured a few more nooks and great many more crannies.

It was a great spot for a romantic dinner with your spouse or an even better spot to dine with your mistress. Businessmen conducted transactions in the booths built into the walls. Old friends gathered to reminisce in private. When they felt like making new ones, they moved towards the center of the bar.

One found all types of people at Duckett's. For example, at the table tucked into the back of the tavern's latest addition, there sat a Cesarian, an Egzardian and Basramian. The three men dressed well, paid with ample supplies of cash and showed nothing but respect for the waitress minding their table.

It was what you'd expect from men who served as representatives of their countries.

The Cesarian did most of the talking. The Basramian interjected with occasional questions and, less frequently, suggestions. The Egzardian quietly listened.

"I'm not concerned with Fanelia's decision to become more active in world politics," the Cesarian said. "Van Fanel can wish to be a large presence all he wants. It doesn't change Fanelia's status as a backwoods country. It doesn't change the fact that its king is barely a man."

"But that boy did play a significant role in defeating Zaibach," the Basramian ventured.

"With a guymelef that no one's seen any sign of since. Rumor has it he's decommissioned it, let it turn into a statue. That's probably the only monument that's still standing in Fanelia."

The Basramian laughed nervously along with his associate. He didn't think it was wise to dismiss Van Fanel so readily. He _knew_ it was a terribly stupid idea to anger the Cesarian. "Fanel should focus on Fanelia first. Hard to take him seriously when his country's still under construction, eh?"

The Cesarian obviously thought so too. The Egzardian made no comment. He'd let these men hash it out then take things from there.

"He's not without sympathies though," the Cesarian said.

The Basramian was relieved to hear that maybe their opponents weren't going to be completely underestimated. "Yes, Duke Chid seemed to favor him," he contributed. "I think also Princess Eries. Our intelligence says her sister is close to Fanel."

The small hope the Basramian had fostered was quickly dashed when the Cesarian responded. "If that's all he has to recommend him, this will be hardly any effort at all. 'Duke' Chid doesn't even fill his chair at the negotiation table. His role has already been decided anyway. And Meiden's assured me he can keep Princess Eries contained."

"I'm not sure how. Those two don't seem to get along very well. She could oppose him just to spite him."

"He's aware of the Princess' opinion of him. He says it's irrelevant. He says he can make our offer attractive enough that she'll take it, however reluctantly. You know, of course, we can make overtures of our own."

"But if she refuses?"

"Meiden's told me of a contingency plan to deal with her."

The Basramian balked. "Nothing too severe, I would hope."

"If she stands in our way, I wouldn't think anything to be too severe."

With that, the Basramian's spirits sunk even lower. He had had his doubts about this conspiracy – most were about how successful it could be, but some dealt with the way they were going about it – and this meeting was doing little more than reinforcing them.

He wouldn't voice his disapproval just yet though. They were still talking in the hypothetical. No sense in backing out over something that might not happen.

The Egzardian was as ambivalent but he didn't dance around his darkest fears. "You're not planning on harming her, are you?"

"I," the Cesarian declared, "am not planning on doing anything to anyone. The Princess is Meiden's burden to bear for now. As long as he carries through on his end, we'll have nothing to fear from her."

The Basramian thought that was an awfully small nit to pick. It might not be their hands that do the deed, but it would be their mouths that speak the orders to commit it. He was all fine and good with manipulating people, lying to them, using them, but somehow, doing harm (and he knew full well what a euphemism that was) to a princess of their host country crossed the line. Perhaps he was picking hypocritical nits of his own. After all, he knew what the crux of their plan was. If it went wrong, he doubted even his cold-hearted Cesarian friend would be able to deny the blood on his hands.

If it went wrong…

The Basramian scolded himself. He knew the plan. He knew how painstakingly it had been set out. The man they had hired was the elite of his profession. It was a matter of honor that he carry out his mission correctly.

No true harm, no actual foul. _No honor among thieves and conspirators, _the Basramian thought grimly.

That was an undeniable fact. Whatever may happen to Asturia's princess, however the first stage of the plan unfolded, the second stage damned them as betrayers. It was a label the Basramian was willing to wear though if it kept his country from becoming the pariahs of Gaea, no better than Zaibach and substantially less than all other nations.

And it wasn't as if the person that was to be betrayed didn't have it coming. That man had started this whole affair with his scheming. He shouldn't be pitied because he didn't foretell that scheming being turned around on himself.

No, the Basramian didn't feel any pity for Meiden Fassa at all.

0-0-0-0

In his office and unaware that his presence was not being missed at Duckett's Tavern, Meiden added up receipts for his latest business deal. Scoring the gemstones from Egzardia had been a coup, selling them to a jeweler with the renown of Micha Revius was the added touch that would ensure the gems – and Meiden's services – would be in demand for some time coming. He had promised Micha Revius exclusivity, but surely the man had to realize such a deal couldn't last forever. At some point, Meiden would have to start offering the gems to other customers; it was only fair. That that point would only be after Micha Revius popularized those gems in Asturia might be considered underhanded, but business was business.

And there were few things in this world Meiden wouldn't do for the sake of his business.

He actually hadn't had to do much of late though. There was nothing like the mass destruction caused by war to up demand and with Meiden having supply… Why, he was only following the natural order of things. He didn't consider it profiteering. He could charge more for his goods if he chose. His decision, of course, was ruled by the belief that the long term benefits of having the right goods at the right price outweighed the short term benefits of the right goods being the wrong price. Goodwill was a commodity just like lumber or steel.

That's why Meiden couldn't get too upset with his oldest son. Dryden was driving prices down playing Merchant of the People, but in the future, that slogan would look damn good on his business papers. It wasn't his son's motive at all, Meiden knew, but good deeds should be rewarded.

Meiden also believed in the corollary 'bad deeds should be punished'. The problem was that Meiden was very forgiving in his opinion on what constituted a bad deed, particularly when the deeds were his own. It wasn't his problem, but others got a little uppity about it. Princess Eries was a prime example. He had spelled out for her what he wanted to do for Asturia and still she was resisting.

She would see the light though. He was sure of that. Once the first stage of the plan was complete, she'd come around.

If she didn't, that was what Allen Schezar was for.

Again, Dryden wouldn't appreciate the ulterior motive, but Meiden did take some satisfaction in knowing that his son's one time rival for Princess Millerna's affections would be the man who would lead to Princess Eries' downfall.

Should it come to that. Meiden, unlike Aston, was perfectly content to let the princess play with her knight. He would only raise objections if Eries failed to stay in line.

He was bothered by not knowing how much progress had been made on that front. Meiden was used to ledgers that told him exactly where he stood. He was sure the princess was not over her feelings for Schezar. A woman that practical wouldn't throw away the throne over a passing fancy. Those feelings ran too deep to be extinguished. They lurked instead, waiting to be rekindled as soon as Schezar was back in her favor.

And she did seem to favor him quite a bit these days.

Still, Meiden would like some confirmation. His payroll contained many different types of people. One or two of them should be suited for the job. He wouldn't use gekkos again, not after the disaster they created last time. While he did share Grava's low opinion of how Schezar dealt with members of the fairer sex, Meiden did not underestimate the knight's ability to know when he was being watched. Swordsmen didn't live very long if they couldn't locate their enemies or figure out who sent them.

Meiden reconsidered. This might be a job for five or six, or as many as it would take, to get the truth. He had a feeling he'd be paying out some overtime in the coming weeks.

Good help was worth a good wage though. He might pinch coins elsewhere but Meiden always made sure to give top compensation to his best employees. They considered it a reward for a job well done. Meiden considered it as a means to maintain loyalty. It was also helpful in acquiring the loyalty of new employees whose former bosses didn't appreciate what they had. The truly talented (or at least, those most suited for Meiden's purposes) always had a way of sniffing out money.

Case in point was the man Meiden had recently assigned to the task of finding Dryden. Meiden had first seen him in the employ of a fellow councilman, his talent wasted on tracking shipments. An interview and a sack of gold later and the man was keeping his eye on much more interesting things.

Others on Meiden's staff had done an excellent job of discovering Dryden's itinerary. Unfortunately, due to Dryden's infuriatingly erratic flight plans and inability to tarry in any one place for longer than a day or two, they'd only been able to discover it after the fact. He'd receive the good news in the morning that his son was at Dalias Port in Cesario only to have more news arrive in the evening that Dryden had shoved off for parts unknown.

It was pattern that repeated far too often. The latest disappointment had come right before the summit. Here he'd been thinking he'd have Dryden at his side and then the night of the ball, instead of his son making a grand entrance, Meiden had had to deal with a servant making excuses as to why their intelligence lagged so far behind.

But with a knock at the door, the pattern changed. A messenger entered, handed him a note. It was urgent. It was from his new hire. Meiden laid the paper on his desk and marveled as the few words scribbled upon it giving him the hope he had almost lost.

_Main ship's engine damaged during storm. Fleet grounded at Plesta until repairs complete. Two days? Preparing ship. Leave at midnight._

Plesta was a city near the Fanelian border. Even if the repairs were finished early, his man would have plenty of time to catch up to Dryden. The prodigal son could be home in time for dinner tomorrow.

It would be a delicate task to bring him back. Dryden wasn't likely to come willingly and Meiden would be damned before force was used on his son. Well, not damned literally and Meiden's definition of force was as loose as his definition of a bad deed. Really the only thing set in stone was 'no permanent marks'.

Meiden would be pretty upset if his son was roughed up unduly would be the most accurate statement.

Even with the extra wiggle room that wording gave him, Meiden needed someone with a touch more sensitivity than his new employee. He needed someone with more authority to bring back the prince regent of Asturia and the refined skills to ensure it was done quickly and quietly.

Meiden ran through a list of potential candidates. He hated hasty decisions but he had no choice. The messenger was waiting to return with Meiden's response. He tapped his fingertips on his desk impatiently then switched to using the palms of his hand. Who should he send?

The tapping caused the sample Egzardian gemstone sitting on his desk to wobble. The facets caught the candlelight and reflected spots of light all over his office walls.

Meiden was similarly illuminated.

The person who had come to mind was a bit rough around the edges, but he certainly possessed the qualities Meiden had been looking for. And his family owed Meiden a favor. It was the perfect combination.

Meiden scribbled out instructions for the messenger. After a brief stop to pick up the man who would bring Dryden back, the messenger was to report to the man who had found him. They could probably leave before midnight.

It was all falling into place. Dryden would return before Stage One of the plan he'd crafted with the Cesarians went into effect. It was an advantage Meiden hadn't even counted on.

Nothing, Meiden was confident, could go wrong.

* * *

Author's Note: Told you it would be short. To pick up the slack, stop over at my livejournal for links to some new art by Sakura: two pics from the chapter 'All That You Can't Leave Behind' and chibis from the last chapter.

Next Up: Crumbs from Your Table. Breakfast with Milly – Catfight? Reconciliation? Bunch of awkward silences that cause me to abuse the heck out of ellipses? See you on New Year's!


	15. Crumbs from Your Table

Intrigues of a Princess

XIV: Crumbs from Your Table

Since the start of the summit, Eries had been taking her breakfasts earlier and earlier and, during them, speaking less and less. The schedule change was a necessary evil. She needed the extra time to review her notes from the previous day's summit session so they'd be fresh in her mind. The nearly-silent treatment was the result of two things: the focus she put into her review and the lack of company. Normally, she had up to a third of the Caeli ringing her table but lately, the count had been down. Alucier was too busy with his own summit preparations. Revius, to put it euphemistically (and thus, to avoid using long streams of profanity), was not a morning person. He'd made it to a few of these crack of dawn meals (the allure of free palace-quality food being one of the few things strong enough to rouse him), but hadn't put in an appearance this morning yet. Seclas, for some reason, didn't like showing unless the other two were there.

So it was just Allen and Eries today. Eries wasn't complaining.

Between bites, Allen talked enough for the both of them. Celena had made a gift of some of the chocolates she'd purchased. She'd gotten sick to her stomach from eating all the others. She hadn't woken up by the time Allen had left, but he was sure Aelia would take good care of her, whether Celena wanted her to or not.

"She's probably making Celena oatmeal or something else bland that she hates," he said.

"I thought Celena rather enjoyed the oatmeal Aelia served when I joined you for breakfast the other week."

"She used it as mortar to build a wall out of fruit slices."

"I didn't say she enjoyed _eating _it."

"True," Allen laughed. "But I don't think Aelia appreciates having her food turned into building materials."

Eries glanced up from her notes to examine the mostly untouched spread before her. "I wouldn't think the palace cooks would appreciate all this food going to waste either. I really should ask them to not bring so much."

"If Revius were here, it wouldn't be too much."

"Make up a care package for him then. It's better than throwing all this out."

"If I can find him. I saw Alucier when I got to the palace and he mentioned that Revius was already gone when he woke up this morning."

The concept of Revius getting an early start on the day was foreign to Eries. A more likely explanation was he had had a very late night instead. The nature of that late night (and the company Revius had spent it with) was not a suitable mealtime topic so Eries skipped over the standard response of 'I wonder where he is' and went with its cousin 'I'm sure he'll turn up'.

"You know," Allen said, "there might also be fewer leftovers if you would take more than one nibble on a piece of toast."

Without looking up from her notes, Eries pointed at the toast in question. "That is clearly a bite, not a nibble."

"I stand corrected. You've gorged yourself this morning. I surely wouldn't want to tempt you with anything further."

"I'm really not hun–" Eries was cut off by the sudden appearance of a forkful of egg at her mouth.

"Eat," Allen commanded.

"You have gotten pushy." Eries complied though, chewing and swallowing deliberately to satisfy Allen.

She was rewarded by a piece of fruit. It came not at the end of a fork, but at Allen's fingertips. She took this offering without complaint then, to both her surprise and Allen's, licked at his fingers to make sure she didn't miss any of the juice.

Allen was quick to fetch another piece of fruit.

This second piece was consumed in a similar manner, then a third. She felt she could eat everything on the table at this rate.

Things did not go that far. As he reached for a fourth piece, a distracted Allen jostled his glass and sent juice running over the edge of the table. While he sponged the mess up with a napkin, Eries cursed the bad timing.

How wrong she was. The timing turned out to be most serendipitous. They'd shut the door to the room for some privacy but they hadn't locked it. They hadn't seen a need to. Handmaidens came in and out during the meal and would have been puzzled by a locked door, but they, and any other visitors for Eries, always knocked to ask if it was all right to come in.

The current visitor was not just any visitor though. As Eries' sister, Millerna didn't have any obligation to follow such formalities.

The only warning before her entry was a light tap at the door. Then she was in the room, Eries and Allen and whatever they happened to be doing at the moment in her full view.

"Father wanted me to ask you if you could see him before you leave for the summit," Millerna announced.

Her answer was silence. Allen continued with the clean up, moving the napkin very slowly now as he wondered if there was any possibility that Millerna had heard or seen something she shouldn't have. Eries fiddled with her notes while she thought on the same.

Concluding Millerna wouldn't be able to simply stand there, indifferent if not a little impatient for a reply, if she had, Eries acted as if they almost hadn't been caught with Allen's fingers in her till. "Of course, Millerna. I'll go to his quarters as soon as I'm finished my meal. Did he tell you why he wishes to see me?"

"I think he just wants to see how you are faring with Meiden. He visited Father earlier and was in an amazingly good mood, practically bouncing off the walls. Father thought that might mean things were not going as well with you."

That was more alarming than Millerna's sudden appearance. Eries had no idea what Meiden could be celebrating, only that Aston was probably right – it meant nothing good for her. She refused to panic until she knew the whole situation. Then she could explode.

"I don't suppose Meiden mentioned why he was so jubilant?" Eries asked.

"You'll have to talk to Father. I only spoke with Meiden as he was leaving and I was arriving. He did as he usually does, ask me how I am and if I've heard from Dryden."

That was unsurprising and of little help, which made Eries suspect Meiden's cheer was politically related. Why else would he be ecstatic around Aston but give Millerna the same treatment as usual?

Unfortunately, Eries' suspicions were based on incomplete information. Millerna had left one important detail out. She wasn't sure if she should rectify the omission. On one hand, Eries would likely find this detail valuable. And, Millerna wanted to know if her sister thought it meant the same thing she thought it meant.

On the other hand, Eries might say it did mean the same thing Millerna thought it meant.

That's why she had come here though, instead of sending a servant to deliver her father's message. Millerna felt she should speak with someone about this and recent squabble or not, Eries was the best candidate.

"There was one more thing," Millerna said, erring on the side of disclosure. "Usually when I tell him, no, I haven't heard from, he'll say something along the lines of 'perhaps sometime soon'. This time he told me 'that will change' and something in the way he said it, I don't think it was merely wishful thinking."

Eries thought it could be a case of overconfidence. That wouldn't be out of the ordinary for Meiden. But what if he did know for certain that Dryden was about to return? Why would Meiden be so happy about that? Eries wasn't going to credit it to Meiden's natural paternal affection, assuming that he had any. There had to be some angle, something that Meiden would be getting out of it.

If Dryden did come back, he'd have to reconcile his relationship with Millerna before he (and by association, Meiden) could make any meaningful claims to power. Given how indifferently Millerna had recalled the hint Meiden have given her of Dryden imminent return that might take a while. In the improbable event that Dryden would assert his title of Prince Regent regardless of Millerna's feelings, it would just mean that he would be a third seat at Asturia's table during the summit. She and Dryden might have very different personalities, but Eries would bet good money his decisions would match hers far more often than they would match Meiden's.

Unless Meiden had some trick up his sleeve. Jichia knew his sleeves were big enough.

"I see," Eries said evenly. The reassessed situation offered no reason to panic. She did, however, feel concern for her sister. "He must have information on Dryden's whereabouts and thinks he can convince him to come home."

"I guess," Millerna replied. She was striving (and had been since she entered the room) for calm, but she again came off as indifferent, as if the topic of Dryden was no more interesting than a change in the weather.

A week ago, Eries would have pressed her. Dryden's return affected Millerna more than anyone else. Meiden was joyous. Eries was wary but optimistic. Millerna was speaking as if she was about to fall asleep.

Speaking, but not entirely acting, that is. Millerna fidgeted with the lace on her dress, indicating to Eries that if Dryden was the same as a change in weather, a hurricane must be coming.

But Eries wasn't sure of how much right she had left to press her sister or how far she could go. The ornery side of her thought she had every damn right in the book to keep going until every last bean had been spilled, inspected and counted. Millerna had badgered her until she confessed her love for Allen after all. The compassionate and practical sides of her conceded that but believed that route would be a surefire way to ensure their relationship would worsen instead of improve.

Those sides still thought Eries had to do something. As unenthusiastic as she seemed, Millerna was still here. Whatever Eries did – and she decided she would do something – it would be done very carefully and without Allen in the room.

She looked at him and nodded her head slightly towards the door.

He got the hint. "If you're going to meet with your father, you won't need me until you leave for the summit. I think my time would be better served helping Alucier with his morning security preparations."

"That makes sense. Meet me outside my father's quarters fifteen minutes before the summit is to begin," Eries instructed him as she would any regular servant.

Allen took his leave as would any regular servant too, bowing to both Eries and Millerna.

"Why don't you join me?" Eries asked Millerna after Allen had left. "There's so much food here. Have you eaten yet?"

Millerna was canny enough to see Eries' act for the excuse that it was. She was also conflicted enough to use that excuse and sit down.

"So, Dryden might be coming back." Eries said.

"Yes."

"His return will have a number of implications."

"Yes."

"Not only politically but…personally."

The last thing Millerna wanted to say was 'yes' again but that's all that would come out of her mouth. Maybe coming to Eries hadn't been a good idea. Their last fight about Allen was too new. Allen's presence in this room was too new as well. Millerna didn't know why she'd been surprised to see them alone together. Eries had taken breakfast in her quarters with her friends for years. Allen, as her friend, should have been there.

But he shouldn't have been alone with Eries, should he? Where was the Caeli with the glasses or the black-haired one the handmaidens always gossiped about? There was another too that was around occasionally. Millerna vaguely remembered he had brown hair and a goatee. Where was he?

Of course, their presences weren't required, only Allen's was. He was assigned to Eries as a personal guard. It would be a lapse of duty to leave her unattended. There, problem solved. Millerna didn't need to think on it any longer. She needed to think on Dryden. Dryden, Dryden, Dryden. Not Eries and Allen.

At least she could give herself the credit that was thinking about Allen with Eries, not Allen on his own. That had to be a kind of sign of growth.

Eries wasn't going to be impressed with some internal monologue Millerna wasn't prone to let her be privy to. She was still waiting for a response that wasn't the word 'yes'. She was about to give up on ever getting one when Millerna's vocabulary finally returned.

"You want him to come back, don't you?"

These new words weren't as big of an improvement as Eries had hoped for. There was a tone of accusation in there, or she felt there was. There always had been in all the other fights they'd had.

But this wasn't a fight. Eries and Millerna weren't quite the same people who used to fight so much. Eries hadn't imagined how close they were after Millerna's return from Freid and before that talk with their father. Eries could be imagining a tone. She could be exaggerating the rift between them.

Or she might not be. Eries tried to strike a balance between the stern, big-sisterly way that she had used in the past with a sweet, plain-sisterly way that…well, that she'd been developing but not quite mastered in the recent past. "I've always thought he made a good match for you, I won't deny that. I won't deny either that I think he'll be of help in keeping his father in line during the summit. But if his sudden return is going to cause you distress, perhaps he should stay away a little while longer."

"You're not saying that simply to make me feel better, are you?"

The answer was another of those infernal 'yeses', only Eries would be saying it instead. She had a feeling Millerna might find it as frustrating as she had. But the more she thought of it, the sooner Eries wanted Dryden home already. He would be an ally against Meiden. He was good for Millerna. Focusing on his youngest daughter and his semi-son-in-law would keep Aston too busy to notice anything going on between Eries and Allen. It would keep everyone busy. Being the Ice Princess who waited in the wings while her more glamorous sisters held the stage had paid dividends before, but this would be the jackpot.

So her reasons were political with a dash of selfishness, familial with true altruistic concern and personal with a heaping helping of selfishness.

Eries chose to work on the middle one. "Millerna, I know you think Dryden is a good man."

"A good man and a good man for me aren't necessarily the same thing," Millerna sighed, unsure if that was true when it came to Dryden.

Eries wasn't as entirely convinced as she pretended to be either. There were some tiny little doubts in her mind. She usually assuaged them by thinking what a good pair Millerna and Dryden made on paper and how Marlene did ultimately come to care for Mahad, but if she had to be completely honest with herself, she didn't have the ironclad confidence her father had. He **knew** Millerna would love Dryden if she gave him a chance.

He'd gotten it right with Marlene. How sincere he had seemed the other night when telling them of his wishes for his daughters! So sincere, Eries tried to sway Millerna through his perspective.

"What if he is a good man for you? You still want to work in medicine, maybe not directly but you want to be involved. How many men are there in Asturian high-society that would be willing to support you – and actively help you? You know Dryden would."

"He would," Millerna conceded. "But I don't know if that's enough. Would it be enough for you? After all, he'd support you in politics and there was never any talk of you two being married despite you being the same age as each other."

Millerna was being too earnest to intend any kind of jab with that. She did have a point. Logically, if any of the Aston sisters were to marry Dryden, it should have been Eries. But as far as Eries knew, she had never even been considered. The most probable explanation was Meiden. He would have known Eries' interest level would be at zero so he probably thought it best not to submit Dryden for princehood until it was likelier he would get in. 'Goods aren't as attractive the second time they go up for sale', she pictured him saying.

She shared the theory with Millerna, sugarcoating her description of Meiden's thought process because Millerna would have to live with the man as her father-in-law should things work with Dryden. 'Always keep in mind your potential customers' the Meiden voice in Eries' head chimed.

Millerna gave as half-hearted nod, as if agreeing with the basic premise but having trouble with the details.

Those details, being Allen-centric as they were, were understandably troublesome. Eries wasn't looking forward to getting into them, but if Millerna asked, she didn't know how she could refuse. It was remarkable that Millerna was talking as much as she was. If Eries had been the one called a 'love-struck fool' and accused of using cheap tricks to seduce a man, chattiness was the last thing she'd feel. Cattiness would be much closer to the truth.

There was a chance Millerna wouldn't say anything though – a chance that grew slimmer and slimmer as Millerna fumbled through asking Eries why Meiden would know Eries wouldn't have been interested.

"I know how confident Meiden is," Millerna explained. "He believes he can sell anything to anyone and he's usually correct. So why would he think that he couldn't…well, sell Dryden to you? I mean, I think I know…but that doesn't mean Meiden would but he did…"

She stumbled a little longer and would have kept stumbling if Eries hadn't stepped in and summarized Millerna's question for her. "You're wondering if he never offered Dryden because he thought I'd rather have someone else."

That was pretty much it, but Millerna was reluctant to confirm. She hadn't forgotten what Eries had said about her either; she just been willing to set it aside for the sake of having someone to talk to. But it couldn't very well stay aside if Allen was going to be dragged into the conversation.

And she didn't want this talk to end the same way as the other. So much younger than both Marlene and Eries, Millerna had never really felt her sisters had viewed her as an equal. Eries hadn't treated her as one with all her lectures on this, that and Allen. The day those lectures stopped was the day Millerna had felt the closest, the warmest towards her family.

So was the risk of having them start again worth it if there was also a chance they could stop forever? That the closeness, the warmth could return? Might she lose that chance if she chickened out and let the whole Allen issue drop before it could be raised?

Eries was not the most emotive person on Gaea. She knew this about herself, cultivated it even. It served its purposes well, though there were times when it became a barrier – such as now when it was as good as a wall of stone in keeping others out. Eries either had to knock it down or wait for Millerna to step around it.

Or they could both get over themselves and meet each other that much faster.

They took the leap simultaneously.

"If you don't want to talk about Allen, I understand."

"Perhaps we should get all of this Allen business out in the open once and for all."

They stared, trying to determine if the other had said what she thought she said. Working off that premise, they tried again.

"So you do want to talk about Allen?"

"I guess you find it awkward to speak of him as well."

While it was good that their messages were starting to resemble each other more, they needed to do something about the timing being dead on. Millerna had been speaking just a hair faster than Eries, so Eries decided to wait for her sister to speak before she said anything herself.

Millerna was of the mind that the oldest should go first.

The oldest did go first, not out of propriety but lack of patience. Eries didn't mince a word – out of the need to get this out in the open and out of practicality to get it out quick to avoid having to speak over Millerna.

"Yes, Meiden knew about Allen. And yes, I probably would have rejected Dryden for that reason."

"Allen really is the reason why you're not married?" Millerna asked in a whisper. "And Father let you?"

The plaintive tinge in her voice made Eries realize what a double shock this all had to be to Millerna. Finding about Eries' feelings for Allen was one thing. Finding out that their father had known about these feelings and more or less tolerated them was another. Millerna had been a lot more vocal in professing her love for Allen and all she had gotten from Aston was a different man for a fiancée.

Eries wouldn't blame Millerna if she interpreted it as favoritism. Eries struggled to find a different explanation herself. "He didn't 'let me' per se. A good candidate never seemed to come along. And he knew I was busy with the council…"

"He knew that I was busy with my medical studies."

"True, but the council was more in line with what was expected of a princess than your studies."

Millerna didn't buy this for a second. "I've studied enough history to know that one of the last things expected of Asturian princesses is to serve on the council. I can remember all the gossip I heard around the palace when you first started too. It was very unusual. Everyone kept speculating when you'd quit or if Father would make you leave."

"They said the same things about your medical studies." It was little more than an eloquent version of 'yeah, so?' but at least it did have a touch of grace. Eries had standards to maintain.

Those standards usually included arguing circles around her opponent. Her heart wasn't in it though. Millerna wasn't an opponent and being victorious wasn't the same as being right. Eries had to concede when Millerna reminded her of how vehemently Father had fought against those medical studies while doing nothing to stop Eries from being a council member.

Agreement with Millerna did not result in understanding about their father's motives. Aston would not put one daughter above the other despite it looking as if he had. He just wouldn't.

"I'm sure he had a good reason why he let me stay on the council and remain unmarried," Eries said.

"But you don't know what that reason is," Millerna said back. Again, there was no jab behind it. She was as curious as Eries.

"No, I don't," Eries sighed. "I don't think though that Father would deliberately give one of us preferential treatment."

"It just wound up that way…"

Millerna did have some resentment. For now it was being aimed at Aston, not Eries, but she thought she should try to disabuse her sister of the notion.

_Being Father's favorite and all_, she laughed to herself, _I should stand up for him_.

"Father told us he's always had our best interests at heart. I believed him. I thought you did as well."

"I know, I know," Millerna said. "The other night might have been the first time I truly realized it, but I do know that now. It's just…with finding about you and Allen and Dryden coming back…I can't help but wonder why he thinks my best interests are so different from yours."

"Millerna… We are different people," Eries stammered. "He would treat us accordingly."

"Yes, Eries. We're completely different people. We have the same parents, the same sister, the same position, the same desire to do something with that position other than get married off to the most politically expedient man and we were both attracted to the same man. I can see why you think we're so unalike."

Eries stared stupidly at her sister. When Millerna put it like that, sure there were some similarities. By putting it like that, she even added one to the list: lashing out sarcastically to prove a point. Eries hadn't really seen that side of Millerna before. She hadn't seen many similarities between the two of them either. It was apparent she'd been overlooking some things.

"I never thought of it that way," she confessed the obvious.

"Why? Because I look like Marlene instead of you? Because I'm six years younger than you?"

"Because we do act very differently. You've always been so...outgoing, so passionate, so stubborn," Eries finished with a sigh.

"And you're none of those things?" Millerna shook her head. "I'll give you outgoing, but the other two."

"Excuse me?"

"Eries, you were in love with Allen for years and refused to marry anyone else because of it."

Eries was coming to the conclusion that these newfound similarities with Millerna were a bit annoying. Someone was using logic and precision to run circles but it sure wasn't Eries. How infuriating it was to have her own tactics thrown back at her.

Infuriating…yet somehow gratifying. Millerna had gotten something useful out of all their disagreements, at least. Eries was getting a good education out of this one.

"Maybe you're right," she laughed softly. "We do have more in common than I've ever thought."

Millerna nodded, smiling. "I didn't give it much thought either, not until the other night. Hearing you say you loved Allen…I…"

"Millerna…"

"No," she pushed on, "I need to say this. I…I was so shocked to hear it. I don't know why. After finding out about Marlene, then learning you and Allen used to be so close – I think I knew, but I didn't want to know."

She knew it was strange nit to pick, but Eries was curious on one point. "Why would you assume I had some sort of involvement with Allen because of his affair with Marlene?"

"Well, we're all sisters."

"And? You thought Allen would try to complete the set?"

"Eries!" Millerna was stunned her sister could trivialize this.

She was not entirely unamused though. Like Eries before her, she was coming to the resemblances between Allen's tangled involvements with the princess of Asturia and the farces performed in Palas' theaters.

"I do know how ridiculous this whole mess is," Millerna said, "but I'm not sure if I'm ready to make light of it."

"Believe me. It's never too early to stop taking this particular situation so seriously." Eries did know what she was talking about. The healthier her relationship with Allen became, the more she was able to step back and appreciate the absurdity.

She wasn't going to rush Millerna into that point of view just yet though. Being able to sit here together and calmly, rationally discuss things was such a marked improvement over flinging thinly veiled accusations and insults and Eries wasn't going to tamper with it.

Millerna was coming along fine on her own anyway. "Maybe you're right this time. I think back on how much I 'loved' Allen and the truth is I barely knew him."

Eries had waited a long time for that admission. Once out, it never occurred to her to gloat. Her instinct was something else entirely. "He's not, or he wasn't, the most forthcoming of men, if that's any consolation."

"But he's changed. He seems awfully forthcoming with you. He was awfully forthcoming with Hitomi."

"It would be hard to hide things from a physic."

Millerna didn't hide her amusement with that jest. "True enough, but I don't think Hitomi really needed that pendant or those cards. She just had the effect on people. Look at Van."

"Look at you," Eries offered. "You miss having her as a friend."

"I know she was a bit unsure how to act around me at first, but after a while, she didn't treat me like 'Princess Millerna', but just 'Millerna'. It was nice having someone around who felt like that, even if we did have that rivalry over Allen."

"Which would be a moot point now," Eries said, "allowing you to get even closer."

"It was always a moot point, wasn't it?" Millerna asked quietly.

"I don't think I will answer that on the grounds that I've rather enjoyed this talk and wish it to continue in the same manner as it has been proceeding."

"Oh, I know what your answer is, Eries. I do appreciate you not saying it though."

Eries appreciated this peace offering. Far from the catfight she had feared, she now felt as if their argument had never happened, nothing had interrupted the closeness they had forged. It was a feeling she wanted to preserve.

It was a feeling she was afraid she might lose if the most recent development in the saga of Allen Schezar and the Aston sisters came to light.

It would be a blow for Millerna; Eries had no doubt about that. How soft or harsh was still up in the air. She sounded more than ever as if she was over Allen – she was even acknowledging how unlikely a real relationship with him ever developing had been. But that didn't mean she was ready to hear Eries say 'Guess what Allen and I decided to do?'. She could be ready later. Or she could never be ready and feel even more resentment when she did find out because Eries had decided to hide yet another thing from her.

Eries doubted she would take it gracefully if Millerna dropped a big secret on her after they'd supposedly moved past all that.

She knew she should tell Millerna. The knowledge, unfortunately, was accompanied by a nagging voice that was telling her she could screw up everything if she told Millerna now and she reacted badly. She'd have an angry sister, an apoplectic father who would ensure she'd have an ex-beau who never got a real chance to be an actual beau and, depending on how toxic the fallout would get, a lot of free time to lament about it all since she wouldn't be serving as her father's proxy for the summit anymore.

She was so very close to having everyone she wanted or losing everything she had all dependent on which way her sister's mood would swing. No matter how much Eries wanted to give Millerna the benefit of the doubt, she didn't know if she could afford to.

There was no cost in testing the waters to see which way they flowed though. Carefully, she nudged the moot point she and Millerna had agreed to back into 'theoretical' relevance. "Do you think you and Hitomi would still have been friends if things had worked out differently? Allen did propose to her, after all."

"And I married another man," Millerna said. Another jest – a good omen. "I don't know," she continued more seriously. "If she had accepted, if she were still living here on Gaea? I'd like to say that I would have gotten used to it eventually, that it wouldn't matter one way or the other."

"But you're not sure if that's true."

"I want it to be true," Millerna concluded, "because Allen's not going to be a bachelor forever. It's not going to be Hitomi he marries, but there's some woman out there. Some woman other than me…"

_And she may be sitting much closer than you think. _Hell would freeze over, thaw, then freeze again before Eries would say that aloud. Instead, she guilty kept prodding. "That must have been hard for you to accept, but I do think it's for the best."

"Just in time for Dryden to return," Millerna laughed sadly. "You'd think the Fates had laid it all out."

"Hmm," Eries muttered then promptly resumed her prodding. "May I ask what did finally make you come to this conclusion?"

Millerna hesitated. Like her sister, she wanted to avoid anything that could turn this surprisingly pleasant talk into the unpleasant contest of awkward stares and silences she had thought it was going to be. Unlike Eries though, Millerna no longer had any secrets to hide. She had no reason to suspect there were any secrets out there to hide. Eries' admission of her feelings for Allen was the last one between them, the last piece that had helped Millerna fit the confusing puzzle of her feelings together.

Eries would want to know that she had helped, wouldn't she?

"It was you," Millerna admitted. "Hearing you say the other night that you had loved Allen. Whatever you feel for him now, when I heard you say it, I knew that's what you had felt then. I didn't try to deny as when I read Marlene's diary. I didn't think it must have been some crush as you always accused me of having."

"Millerna…"

"No, it's all right, Eries. I want you to hear this. You've been kind enough not to gloat, but you were right. My feelings for Allen… They felt so real, but I have to wonder how real they could have been. You were the one he was friends with. You were the one who held his secrets. You're the one he's friends with now, the one that he trusts his sister with. I've never been any of those things."

If Eries' conscience got any guiltier, she would have to throw herself at a statue of Jichia and beg repentance. There would have to be offerings too – entire fields of flowers and a tithe that would cover the cost of a new church. She believed Jichia would forgive her. What mattered to Eries though was if Millerna would forgive her.

There would be no answer until Millerna was given the chance. She was being so mature now, so accepting.

This was going to be the true leap of faith. The worse that could happen was the nightmare Eries had imagined. The best that could happen would be Millerna being ecstatically happy for her and offering to double date with her and Dryden.

Even the most optimistic person, the sort who would say a glass was half-full even when it only contained a couple of drops, wouldn't expect the second scenario to come true. But Eries wasn't so pessimistic that she truly believed the nightmare scenario would come true either.

She interrupted Millerna's soliloquy on how cathartic Eries' confession had been. She still hadn't decided if she was going to reveal everything but the least she could do was stop Millerna from patting her on the back. "What would you do if you found out Allen was in a relationship with someone now instead of the vague future?" she asked bluntly.

"I…" Millerna paused. Something in Eries' tone made her think this question wasn't as hypothetical as it appeared on the surface. Her gut instinct had little problem guessing who 'someone' could be. She wanted to ignore it. She hadn't ignored it when she had pushed Eries into confessing and look what that had resulted in.

Except that storm had passed. The other night they may have been fighting but this morning was a different story. If they could get past that, they could get past anything.

And, Millerna couldn't avoid acknowledging, her gut instinct had been right once. If it was right again, there was no way she could hide from this truth. It would be in the back of her mind, never letting her rest, never letting her stop wondering. She'd never have peace until she dealt with it.

"It would be hard," Millerna said stoically, "but I wouldn't have much choice but to accept it."

"Even if it was with someone close to you?"

_I said I wouldn't have much choice_, she thought, but she knew that wasn't true. She had choices. A lot of them were bad. One was good. One was for the best. That it felt like the hardest of them all didn't matter.

"Especially if it was with someone close to me."

Eries considered her own choices. She knew what Millerna's gesture must have cost her. She knew too, that because of it, the choice she'd been afraid to make was now the best one before her.

"Millerna, there's something I think I should tell you…"

But there was a limit to magnanimity and Millerna had reached hers. She knew in her heart; she wasn't quite ready to hear it in her head. "It's all right, Eries. You don't have to say anything more."

Eries respected her wishes. Millerna had shown enough understanding for today, enough to make Eries believe there would be a day when she could speak and Millerna could listen without any doubt in either of them. "Thank you, Millerna. I'm glad you came by this morning. This talk has meant a great deal to me."

It meant a lot to Millerna too. She's wasn't entirely sure she was glad it took place yet as what had gone unspoken started to sink in. As she had told Eries though, she did want it to be true.

"You should go see Father," she said. "He's probably wondering what's taken you so long."

"Of course," Eries said. The chiming from the courtyard's bell tower indicated they'd been talking longer than she realized. She'd have hardly any time to speak to her father about Meiden even if she ran to his room.

She thought the sacrifice was worth it. Her deepest fears about her sister had been laid to rest. That still left fears about her father, her friends, Meiden Fassa and the entire population of Asturia, but after just this one conversation, they suddenly looked much easier to face.

* * *

Author's Note – Turned out much longer than expected, mostly because Millerna kept worming her perspective into the narrative. I felt it had to be there though, even if it meant bouncing back and forth between her and Eries. She has grown and she needed to show it. I didn't want to rehash the endless angst of not sharing their feelings and secrets of their previous relationship. Gals needed to move on and so did the plot if I want to finish this thing sometime before 2008. And isn't it nice that things are going so nicely for Eries? Of course, anybody who's ever watched a soap opera knows what happens to characters that are too happy…

Next up: Original of the Species. He's heeeeeere. Actually there, but getting closer to here. Dryden, that is.


	16. Original of the Species

Intrigues of a Princess

XV: Original of the Species

In his travels across Gaea, Dryden Fassa had been to many unusual places and met many unusual people. The port city of Plesta and its denizens did not fit this label and frankly, he was grateful. After last summer's trip involving a half-Draconian king, a pack of hard dealing Ispano guymelef makers, an imaginary land that turned out to be not so imaginary, getting married, getting single and watching a war unfold, Dryden could stand some usual.

As he realized he'd left a mermaid and a Mystic Moon girl off his list, Dryden decided he _needed_ usual. He asked for recommendations as to where he could find some of that needed usual from the workers that were repairing his ship. They gave him the name of a quaint tavern that sat on the edges of Plesta, far away from the dockyards and next door to nothing but peace and quiet. Just the spot he needed they said and Dryden agreed to try, setting off on his own. His assistant could handle overseeing the repairs. The rat man enjoyed haggling over prices and timetables anyway.

He arrived at the tavern and was immediately greeted at the door by the wife of the tavern owner, an older woman who insisted on walking him to his seat while regaling him with the recipes for the day's specials. She was definitely in the 'best ingredients make the best meals' camp and Dryden had a hard time picking just one dish.

"I'll give you a sample of everything, how's that?" she said and hurried off to the kitchen before Dryden could answer her. It didn't matter; it all sounded good to him.

He could see why the woman was big on customer service. The tavern was small, homey even, with a large fireplace taking up the back wall and only a few tables between it and the kitchen. Most of those tables were occupied, but from their garb and the friendly way they wandered from table to table, Dryden could tell that the occupants were locals out for a drink or two while they chatted away the day. Those types were always the most loyal customers a tavern could have. Unfortunately, those types were seldom the big spenders business needed to keep up profits.

_I sound like my old man, _Dryden thought. _That's never a good sign._

Meiden wouldn't be caught dead mingling amongst strangers he wasn't planning on selling anything to so that's exactly what Dryden did. He did more listening than talking. The main topic of conversation was the amount of jobs that had been added at the dockyard since the end of summer. They wanted to know how long it could last, or if it would last at all. Dryden had his theories – good ones too since as a traveling merchant, he knew about as much about trade and the economies it created as anyone – but he kept them to himself. He was just one of the regulars tonight, albeit a regular dressed in expensive robes and who had enough money on him to buy this tavern a hundred times over.

His robes looked shabby, at least.

As a 'regular', Dryden expressed the exact amount of required surprise at seeing another obvious out-of-towner come through the tavern door. About the same age as Dryden, he was dressed even rougher, with a loose tunic and a pair of pants that looked as if an animal had chewed on them. The tavern keeper's wife descended on the new man, fussing over him like a slightly daft aunt and promising to take care of him whether or not he had the coin.

"It's okay," the young man said. "I've plenty of money." To prove his point, he offered to buy a round for everyone in the tavern then produced money to cover two rounds.

Dryden was completely forgotten as the new guy quickly became everybody's best friend.

He could have matched the stranger's offer easily. The money being passed around was hardly five minutes worth of work for Dryden. But he wasn't one to look a gift horse in the mouth and neither was he one to trot out his own pony just because someone else was showing off theirs. Dryden let the stranger buy him a drink, saying 'thanks' and nothing more.

This approach seemed to earn Dryden a new buddy as the stranger motioned to the empty chair across from him. "Mind if I sit?"

"Not at all," Dryden answered, "though I think the locals would like to have a chance to say their thanks too."

"You mean you're not from around here?" the stranger asked sarcastically. "The robe and the long hair really threw me off." Getting serious but a little devious, he added, "The drinks were just to soften them up anyway."

"For what?" Dryden eyed the stranger over again. The man didn't look too dangerous. The rattiness of his clothes to the contrary, he actually had a look of the noble class about him. His hair was too close cropped. His nails were trim. All of his teeth were present and white.

Of course, looks weren't everything. Dryden was technically a prince and definitely an extremely wealthy merchant and the only trait he could claim was the teeth.

Still, nothing screamed 'evil bandit that's going to kill us all' about the stranger. That is nothing screamed until he pulled out a slender knife from an inner pocket of his shirt.

Dryden sat back, out of the stranger's reach and into a position that would enable him to make a quick exit from his chair. He did it casually so as to not rile up either the stranger or the locals. Sure, he was in a tavern in the middle of nowhere surrounded by people who didn't know him and sitting across from a guy wielding a knife and making pronouncements about softening people up, but that was hardly any reason to panic.

"Nice knife," Dryden said dryly.

"Tch. This thing? It's just a tiny, little blade. Not good for anything but shaving or playing darts. Not that you seem to know too much about the former."

"I shaved for my wedding day," Dryden countered.

"And since then?"

"I'm already married, what's the point?"

The stranger laughed. "Maybe your wife ought to get a couple of these. I'd give you some of mine but I need them."

"For shaving…?" As strange as the stranger was, Dryden didn't sense any throat-cuttings were going to go along with the disposal of unwanted stubble. It paid to be sure sometimes though.

"For darts. Jeez, pay attention." The stranger got up then, going over to the locals he had initially shunned. In short order, the second round of drinks showed up, a flat, rectangular piece of wood dotted with cuts was produced and hung up next to the fireplace and the stranger started taking friendly wagers on who would score what.

The board was painted in several different colored circles, each circle labeled with nearly illegible numbers. Nobody needed to read them anyway. They were playing darts. All they needed to do was aim for the center.

Dryden picked up his drink and drifted over to watch the action. The stranger played all right for the average man in a tavern, but the guy had brought his own knives. He was obviously holding back.

More obvious was the fact that the stranger's skill level was going to undergo a remarkable change once the locals had enough 'free' drinks and the wagers changed from 'friendly' to 'loose with issues about self-esteem'.

Dryden (and the world at large) would never consider himself a knight in shining armor, but that didn't mean he couldn't play merchant in worn in yet originally quite expensive robes.

The title was about as heroic as the look. Neither was remotely effective when Dryden tried to intervene on the locals' behalf. "I thought the point of darts was to have a friendly competition. Why bother betting?"

"Money," one of the locals answered plainly.

"Can't argue with that," the stranger said while lining up his next throw. He fumbled slightly on the release, causing the knife to wedge into the outermost and widest circle. "Damn! Guess I have to pay up."

He dug some coins out his pocket and handed them over to their new owners. Dryden shook his head when the distribution was through and the stranger made a predictable request.

"How about one more game so I can try to redeem myself?"

The locals were all for this. They were up two drinks and a good bit of spare change. They were hoping for several more games.

Their wishes came true as the stranger played better on the next game, but not good enough to beat the locals' best player.

"So close! One more game!"

The champion player considered. "One more round of drinks, then one more game." He winked at his friend as they cheered this very logical demand.

_Heh_, Dryden thought. _The locals aren't so naïve after all. They know he's a con artist; they're just trying to get as much booze out of him as possible until he starts playing for real._

"What about you, Married Man?" the stranger asked him. "If you want the liquor you have to get into the game."

"Throwing pointy objects at beat up pieces of wood isn't exactly my area of expertise," Dryden said. "Guess I'll have to keep nursing this drink."

"Hardly seems fair when everyone else is having such a great time." The stranger retrieved his knives from the board. He paused while removing the last one. It was wedged in fairly deep and he didn't want to damage the board, regardless of how damaged it already was. It gave him time to contemplate his next move.

The knife came out along with a question. "What is your area of expertise anyway?"

"People," Dryden replied.

"How very interesting and not at all vague."

"People are interesting, fascinating actually. And if you need me to be more specific, I'm an expert at selling things to them."

"And why is that exactly?"

Dryden wasn't sure where the stranger was going with this or how he expected it to lead to a fool and his money being parted. Dryden was no fool though. Neither did he plan on losing a single cent playing darts or any other type of game. He would let it be known no games were going to played period. "I know how to read what people need, what they want."

"Huh. What do you think I want?"

"To quote our friend here - 'money'."

"Is that what you think?" The stranger shook his head. "You don't know me at all."

"I think we all knew you the second you showed off those knives," one of the locals said. He drew considerable applause out of the small crowd.

"Nobody trusts anybody these days," the stranger lamented. "I'll have you know I'm a respected citizen back home."

"Asturia?" Dryden ventured. The stranger's clothes were in last year's fashion (which was more or less the same fashion as this year minus ridiculously puffed up sleeves).

"You are correct, sir. Maybe you do know people after all."

"Wouldn't get very far in my job if I didn't and believe me, I've gone very far."

The locals, taking another look at Dryden, were skeptical of this boast. The stranger however, took him fully at his word. "Oh, I believe you. Can't go much farther than being a prince. Well, there's being a king but let's not rush his highness, Grava Aston into an early grave."

The locals were gawking at Dryden for a completely different reason now.

"A prince? Him?"

"Nah, Knives is just trying to con us again."

"Yeah, but what if –"

Dryden neither confirmed nor denied his status. He was too busy realizing that while the stranger was running some kind of game, the locals weren't the target. He was.

Yes, Dryden had a talent for reading people, but when he let his guard down, that talent could work on the slow side.

Guard up and back to regular speed, Dryden set to interrogating the stranger. "Who are you?" he demanded. The first and only thought that came to his mind was this man had been sent by his father. Who else but good old Meiden would and could track him down like this?

The stranger smiled. "I thought you knew people."

"I know my father so I'm going to guess you're on his payroll."

The stranger tossed one of his knives at the dartboard. It hit closer to the center than he gotten while playing with the locals, but still didn't make it into the small center ring. "So close," he said, "but not quite there."

"My father did send you though…"

The second knife hit the target dead center. The locals offered their respect for such an expert throw.

Ignoring them, Dryden continued the interrogation. "He sent you to take me back to Asturia, right?"

Again, the knives did the talking. The third knife thrown landed precisely next to its predecessor, so close they looked liked one large knife instead of two small ones.

"Did you see that?!" one of the locals exclaimed.

The others replied damn straight they had seen that.

The stranger just looked at Dryden, a fourth knife in his hand, ready for the next question.

Dryden wasn't going to be asking it. He'd heard enough to know he'd be returning to his ship now. And there he would stay until repairs were complete and the ship was ready to leave Plesta. High on the list of preparations that would have to be made was ensuring no dart-playing strangers were any where near the vessel.

The priority now was ensuring no dart-playing strangers were any where near Dryden. Fishing a thick wad of bills out from under his robe, Dryden took the first step to make this a reality. "It's been fun but I have to get going. For providing such great entertainment, why don't you all split the tip here?"

"Do you see that?!" one of the locals exclaimed.

The others replied damn straight they saw that.

The stranger wasn't the tiniest bit impressed. "What's that? Some spare change you have lying around? That's all it looks like to me."

The locals began debating the sanity of the stranger as well as revisiting the possibility that the long-haired weirdo in their presence might actually be a prince.

"I guess my father's paying you a lot more, huh?"

"I told you, I don't work for your father."

"Can I work for your father?" one of the locals asked.

"You don't want to," Dryden told him. "Whatever he gives you isn't worth it. And as for you –" Dryden pointed at the stranger. "I don't believe for a second you're not my father's flunky."

The stranger sighed, not bothering to throw the fourth knife because for it to be an accurate reflection of the veracity of Dryden's statement, he'd have to pitch it outside. "Look, I am playing Errand Boy for your father, but I am not – I repeat NOT – an employee of Meiden Fassa. I have some standards and they involve not taking money from Weasel Merchants."

"But they do involve abducting people from taverns and dragging them somewhere they don't want to go."

"That seems pretty low to me," a local chimed in. His assessment, unfortunately, lost some credibility due to his hand creeping ever nearer to the pile of money Dryden had laid down.

The stranger would have disregarded the opinion anyway. "Have I thrown a sack over your head and slung you over my shoulder yet? I'm trying to be nice and convince you to come home."

"And the whole business with the dart game and pretending you didn't know who I was? That wasn't trickery but the gentle art of persuasion?"

"That was for fun," the stranger said matter-of-factly. "I didn't want to come here. I didn't want to do this mission. So if I can work in some recreation, why not?"

"As long as you're enjoying yourself." Dryden, however, wasn't. He thought he'd test how truthful the stranger was being in claiming he wasn't going to kidnap him and turned to leave.

"Oh, come on," the stranger called after him. "Aren't you even going to listen to me?"

"Did it. Done with it."

"What if I started talking about the fair Princess Millerna?"

Dryden stopped. He had no reason to believe the stranger knew anything about Millerna or if he did, that he'd be honest in relaying that information.

But if there was a small chance…

"What about her?" Dryden asked without turning around.

"Don't you want to see her again? She's pretty lonely these days, what with Eries handling the summit and her father still convalescing."

"Right, she's just so lonely," Dryden snorted, "she can't wait to see me. Why, I bet next you're going to offer to take me to her." The stranger didn't know anything about Millerna after all. How could he? The man claimed respectability back home, but that didn't mean he had it. The fact that he had referred to Eries without her title showed how uncouth he was.

Or it showed something else entirely. A suspicion began niggling in the back of Dryden's mind that there was some familiarity to this stranger. Eries always called his father a weasel. The stranger had used the same term. The stranger felt he was on a first name basis with Eries. Only Eries' closest friends had that honor.

And, as a source of much bafflement to Dryden over the years, Eries' closest friends were all Knights Caeli.

Dryden pictured the man in front of him in a more refined outfit of blue and gold. It matched the image of a man he'd seen around the palace, a man who captained the palace guard.

Oh, crap.

Dryden's hopes for escape almost evaporated. This Caeli was one of the skilled ones too, supposedly next only to Allen Schezar. There was no way in hell Dryden was going to outmaneuver him physically.

It would be mentally then. Dryden was a fast thinker. That would have to beat out a fast doer.

"I know you," Dryden sighed. "It's Revius, right?"

"Dashir Revius, sir. Now that that's out of the way, shall we be going?"

"You know this guy?" a local asked.

Dryden knew enough _of _Revius to not play cute with semantics in an attempt to get the locals involved. The man wouldn't care what they thought or said. "Yeah, we go way back," Dryden said. "In a way, he works for me."

"I thought he worked for your father?"

"Can you wrap up chat time here?" Revius asked impatiently. "I've got a schedule and all…"

"My father's schedule, right? Even though you don't work for him, of course."

"Very good. Even though you're being completely sarcastic, at least the words are starting to form in your brain. Maybe in time, you'll come to accept them. Now, can we go? Like I said, I haven't produced a sack for over your head yet and I don't want to. But if it comes down to it, remember, it'll be way more embarrassing for you than for me."

Embarrassment was a state of mind. If one refused to let shame dominate him, then shame could not touch him. Dryden knew this, had read it in some Freidan text on meditation and thought it was a good way to look at things. Still, he knew if the scenario Revius had described played out, the best reciting a mantra might do is keep shame hovering perilously close to him, able to claim it wasn't actually touching him while still making his face flush and the locals have a cheap laugh.

Dryden was not leaving this tavern on some guy's shoulder. He needed to ramp up the verbal warfare.

"You're obviously not a fan of my father's, so why do his bidding? You say it's not money, so he must have something on you. You can't let people blackmail you like that. He gets you to go along once, he'll have you for the rest of your life."

"Gee, thanks for the advice," Revius replied. "Do you have any more life lessons to impart because if so, you're just giving me more incentive to haul your ass out of here."

It was time to send Mr. Nice Guy to the bench. Dryden hated calling upon Mr. Skeezy Dealer Guy, but his statistics spoke for themselves. "Whatever my father's got on you, I'll fix. You owe money? I'll pay it off. Somebody bugging you? I'll pay them off."

"Right now," Revius drawled, "the only person bugging me is you. I guess this means you're going to cooperate now. Or give yourself money."

The locals sort of hoped Dryden would start cooperating. They would hate for the 'tip' that he had left to be reclaimed.

"Come on," Dryden said, "you dislike my father more than I do. Why do you want him to get his way? Just say you came here and I was already gone. How's he going to verify that?"

"He'll probably ask the scuzzball that does work for him who came here to Plesta with me. He's a real piece a work. You ought to be thanking me I convinced him to let me handle everything. Otherwise, it would have been blindfold, gag, sack and shoulder the second we got here and that's if the guy was going to play nice."

"You have my eternal gratitude," Dryden sniffed.

"Yeah, well, that stuff's not really my kink."

Dryden could here the locals snickering behind him. It was amazing how quickly the tide had shifted from Dryden and his fat wad of cash to Revius and his smart aleck responses. It really wasn't fair. The prospect of being forced to go back to Asturia was throwing Dryden off his game. His was losing the home team support and only managing to delay what was looking to be the inevitable.

He gave one last ditch effort. "The scuzzball doesn't have to know anything. Say I didn't like the food here and took off before you came in."

"Aw, no one's going to buy that," a local said. "Leesa makes the best food in all of Plesta."

"It's hypothetical," Dryden sighed.

Revius just smiled. At this rate, the locals weren't going to say a thing when push came to shove. They'd probably hold the door open for him.

Knowing he'd made a misstep, Dryden tried to cover. "I was just tossing out any old idea, believable or crazy–"

"That one was crazy."

Dryden blocked out the mutterings from the audience. He had to convince Revius anyway, not the locals. "-My point is, there's no need for you to do something you don't want to do. You have options."

"Yeah, I do. You don't, but I do."

"Now you're just being petty and toying with me."

"I thought I had been doing that from the beginning."

In other circumstances, Dryden might have liked this guy. It still didn't answer the question why Eries liked him, but Dryden believed he would have appreciated the droll detachment Revius had towards the situation if he himself weren't so attached to the very same situation. He'd be the kind of guy to hang out in a tavern with, drinking ale, playing games and discussing women – assuming all these activities didn't end up with Dryden being hauled back to Asturia before he was ready to go.

They'd already done the first two and since it looked like things were going to wind up exactly as Dryden didn't want to wind up, it didn't hurt to throw in the third to buy a little more time.

Dryden was counting on it helping. Because even though he didn't know Revius well enough to recognize him out of his Caeli uniform, he had heard enough palace gossip about him to know women were a topic of profound interest and concern to Revius.

He walked over to Revius, slung his right arm over the other man's shoulder and led him over to the back corner of the tavern. Once there, he leaned in to share in a conspiratorial whisper. "Look, I'll level with you. I could go back to Asturia and everything would work out great for me. I'd be Prince Regent. I'd have a more stable and thus more profitable base of operations. And, if I got pushy about it, I'd have a wife. But I don't want to get pushy about it because then things might not work out great for her and that means more to me than any title or any amount of money. You understand?"

"Yes, I understand," Revius answered. "I understand completely that you don't want to come back to Asturia just yet or else you'd already be there and I wouldn't have had to come all the way out here and spend an afternoon providing entertainment to a bunch of tavern goers. I understand…but I don't care. My assignment, for lack of a better word, is my assignment."

"So what? Didn't you ever skip work in school? What's the worse that could happen? Don't tell me a skilled Knight of the Heavens is scared of an old merchant."

"No, I'm scared of what an old merchant might do to the Prince Regent of my country if said Prince Regent doesn't go along with his wishes. I wasn't exaggerating about my traveling companion earlier. The second I saw the guy I knew I couldn't trust him with your life."

"Oh, so you're here out of Caeli honor?"

Revius threw up his hands in disgust. "Jeez! I do have some! They don't give the uniforms out to just anybody, you know!"

Technically, they _did _use to give them out to just anybody, provided that anybody had enough money to pay for it. Those anybodys though wouldn't pitch the fit that Revius was pitching. Neither would have they been able to throw knives like that. Dryden was willing to extend the benefit of the doubt. "Okay, okay, I believe you. I've seen some of the people my dad's hired. You've probably seen them too, except you would have been chasing them away from the palace."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

Noble merchant and honorable Caeli stared at each other, wondering where to go next. Well, they both knew where they wanted to go next; it was a matter of figuring out how to get the other guy to agree with him.

Revius made the first move, serving up some honesty in order to coax Dryden into trusting him more. "Okay, there might have been one other reason why I came here."

"Oh, really?" Dryden wasn't in the most coax-able of moods.

"Yeah, see, you leveled with me, so I think I should level with you. There is another small reason besides my deep concern for you welfare."

"Go on."

"Mind you, this is only a very small contributing factor to my decision to come find you, but basically it boils down to this: Your dad sold my dad some gemstones. Your dad, however, has not actually turned said shinys over to my dad and will be having second thoughts about doing so until his son, that is 'you', has his ass back in Asturia. No Dryden, no gemstones. No gemstones, a lot of angry customers my father has stupidly already made promises to. A lot of angry customers, an even angrier Momma Revius. An angrier Momma Revius, me getting bitched at by Momma Revius until she's screamed herself hoarse and then she'll just start writing me nasty notes."

That sounded like a classic Meiden Fassa Underhanded Trick. Normally, Dryden scorned his father's methods, denouncing them the second he heard of them. It would another minute yet until he get to that though because, at the moment, he was too amused by the image of Momma Revius scolding her bad, little boy. "So you're scared of my father's thug, excuse me, what my father's thug might do to me and….your mother?"

Revius didn't bother denying it. He parried the attack instead. "You're scared of your wife."

"I am not. I'm…" Dryden had a nice and verbose description of what he was in relation to Millerna but he knew it would fall on deaf and cynical ears. He wasn't sure he believed it so much either. "It's a delicate situation."

"You are such a wuss."

"Me? You're scared of your mother."

"My mother could take Princess Millerna and a pack of handmaidens with both arms tied behind her back. Princess Millerna's going to do what? Pout at you? Ooooo, scary."

It wasn't scary. It was cute actually, the way Millerna would purse her lips and blink those wide violet eyes. It was the fact that Dryden found it so irresistibly cute that was scary. To return too early, to face her when neither one was yet prepared…

"Her happiness is very important to me," Dryden said softly, "more important than my own. You ever feel that for a girl? That you would do anything, no matter the cost to you, just to know she's happy?"

If the locals could have overheard such a heartfelt declaration, they would have been swayed instantly back to Dryden's cause. Unfortunately, they couldn't and were discussing a digestive disorder that was going around the livestock in the area instead.

So it was only Revius that heard. Despite his nigh-immunity to sentimentality and an utter inability to relate, the earnest and pathetic nature of Dryden's plea made Revius decide to give empathy a trial run. "I did date this one girl for a five whole months and I didn't even cheat on her once. Well, not once until the end. Alucier was actually happy that we broke up because he thought it might be a sign of the end of the world."

Dryden had no idea how to work with this. "Uh, huh."

"We didn't break up so much as she threw a chair at me then stormed out of my apartment and refused to ever speak to me again. It wasn't really my fault. You see, this really gorgeous waitress started working at Tuvello's and I gave her a generous tip and she wanted to show me how appreciative she was…"

Dryden did not want to work with that. "Yeah, I'm sure it really broke your heart. But my point is I don't want to break Millerna's."

"And you think being in the same country as her is going to make it shatter into tiny little pieces?"

"I think living in the same palace and being proclaimed her husband by everyone else that lives there is going to put some pressure on her, pressure that she may resent."

"Pressure that she might like. You never can tell with these innocent-looking types."

Dryden stared at Revius. He didn't know what that even meant to be able to begin to work with it. A little voice in his head was yelling at him to ignore it, lest he learn. He couldn't ignore Revius entirely though. This little tangent had bought him more time than the other attempts at persuasion. It might turn out to be his ticket out of here and away from Asturia.

"I'm just worried," Dryden continued, "if I come back before she's ready to see me, she'll never be ready."

"Fascinating, really," Revius yawned. "But what exactly would be the qualifications for her being ready to see you? Is there some kind of time limit no one is aware of other than you? You're waiting for some kind of sign? I'm lost here."

Dryden didn't exactly have a map and an itinerary either. He'd never been this hesitant about anything or anyone. The Dryden that existed a year ago would have joined in on Revius' denouncing of him as a wuss and sailed straight to Palas to pick up his beautiful bride.

Of course, the Dryden that existed a year ago had the advantage of not actually knowing his beautiful bride and the other beautiful people in her life.

Honestly, Dryden sort of liked Allen Schezar. On the surface, the man was almost too noble to be true, somebody you'd have an easier time picturing as a sketch beside the definition of the word 'knight' in a book than a person you'd see walking down the street, but Dryden had to give him some credit. The type of men who had crewed the Crusade wouldn't serve under a pretty image; there had to be a man under there. He'd stepped out of the way as if he'd never been in it when Dryden and Millerna had gotten married.

And nobody made cracks about the length of Dryden's hair when Allen Schezar was in the room.

So, no, he didn't dislike him. Dryden didn't think he had any reason to think he should be worried about what Allen would personally do either. What Millerna would do about Allen was the source of his worry. Well, not necessarily do even, but think and feel…

God, he _was_ a wuss.

"I don't know what I'm waiting for," Dryden admitted. "Before I left I had this big plan to come back the conquering hero and sweep her off her feet and now that I've done the heroic merchant bit, I still can't bring myself to go back."

"It has only been a couple of months. Maybe you were hoping for bigger hero status than being the guy who sold stuff for cheap to needy people."

Sympathy was supposed to make people feel better. Revius' brand did have that effect, but only after a very roundabout way of getting there and with Dryden doing most of the work. "Hey, I do a lot of good for people out there. It might not be as flashy as dressing up in a pretty uniform and sticking bad people with swords, but I help people get food on their tables and houses to put those tables in."

"Yeah, you are the man."

"And I do it all while building up my business. You think just anybody can run a business like that?"

"Hell, no."

"And I am a very perceptive man. I know when someone's only agreeing with me so I'll agree with them."

Revius shrugged. "Eh, I don't care if I'm being obvious, just as long as I'm being effective. Can we go now?"

He hated to concede that Revius had been effective but Dryden was almost ready. Ambivalent feelings about Millerna or not, he'd have to return to Palas someday. While he took his time working up the courage, his father would be steadily losing patience. And even if Revius did have an ulterior motive, he was right - the next time Meiden sent someone for him, it wouldn't be a Knight Caeli and they wouldn't spend any time chatting in a tavern.

He threw in the towel. "All right, we can go." Enthusiasm flowed out of Dryden like mud – really thick mud with leaves and clay and all kinds of crap mixed in. He'd have to work on that. "We'll walk slow back to the port though, right?"

"It is a long walk," Revius agreed. "You know what they say: slow and steady. We might need some nourishment too."

They walked back to the front of the bar where the locals were pretending not to notice them. Dryden's pile of money had magically scooted itself over a couple of tables and onto a chair that had a coat draped strategically across the back so only a tiny corner of the bills was showing.

Dryden didn't say a word about it. In the eternal debate between love or money, Dryden knew which one he held in higher regard. He also knew there would be plenty of money waiting for him where he was going.

He'd trade every last cent of it if it meant love was going to be waiting for him too.

* * *

Author's Notes: Another short one that blew up to twice the size I intended it to be. Dryden and Revius were too much fun together though. I tend to write my Esca stuff in a slightly more arch tone then what I regularly use and while I have been relaxing that tone a lot during 'Intrigues', it was nice to shove it into a corner for pretty much the whole chapter.

I realize I'm horribly behind in review responses so in order to remedy that the cheap and easy way, I'll just be posting one big response in my LJ to a lot of the questions that were asked. There was some overlap in the questions anyway and they covered some stuff that might be of interest to people other than the ones that originally asked them. Anyway, I hope to have that up by the end of the week.

I also hope to have up by that time a one-shot that I finally completed after letting it rot for oh, three years or so.

Next up: Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own. Hey, remember how Marqesita has a big ol' secret? She won't by the end of the next chapter.


	17. Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own

Intrigues of a Princess

XVI: Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own

Years from now, when historians would get around to committing the events of the summit to paper, they would gloss over a few details. No one would ultimately care who sat where, the times when the summit convened and when it broke for lunch. A portrait of the Great Hall it took place in might get a full page spread to add some visual flavor to the text, but it would probably be only of the wall opposite the entrance with its classic architecture and the flags of the nations of Gaea on display. The rest of the hall would be ignored.

The historians themselves might be interested in these minutiae, but if they cared to sell a single volume of their works, they'd have to write for a wider audience. That meant brief biographies of all of the many parties involved, no in depth analyses of socio-political trends and excerpts from only the best speeches.

It meant making no reference whatsoever of the four hours the delegates spent bickering over the exact weight of steel Zaibach would be able to import down to the last ounce.

Eries was trying to block the memory of the morning ill-spent herself. She had wanted things to slow down until she and Marqesita were able to form more cohesive plans but the crawl the debate had proceeded at bordered on painful.

Most of the other delegates, by all appearances, were in agreement. Chid was trying desperately not to yawn but even the much older Kaja and Nuri were putting a discreet hand to their mouths to conceal the movement with increasing frequency. Van Fanel switched from glaring at the floor to the Cesarian delegate who was taking up so much time on the floor making sure Zaibach didn't get a single sliver of steel more than what he deemed necessary. The object of General Adelphus' glare was the same, but he didn't bother to alternate looking at the floor to mask his disdain.

The Basramians didn't seem to be paying much attention. Their focus was instead on a piece of paper they were passing between them. Eries fancied they were playing some sort of word game. Marqesita was close enough that Eries could have sent an inconspicuous scrap of paper her way but the Egzardian princess was too preoccupied with wishing for Bennor to shut up and let the Cesarian have his way. Tellot, having perfected the art of dozing lightly while keeping his eyes open during his school days, snoozed the morning away.

Eries certainly wasn't going to try to engage Meiden in any games. Other than the two debaters, he was the only other person in the hall that was alert and in good spirits. He paid half-hearted attention as Bennor and the Cesarian quibbled but like the Basramians, his main focus was elsewhere. Unfortunately, Eries couldn't get a good look at the ledgers he was skimming through no matter how much she quietly shuffled her chair around.

The motion must not have been subtle as she thought it was. Meiden snapped his book shut and whispered to her, "Are these proceedings boring you so much, Princess, you feel the need to read over my shoulder? Perhaps you should excuse yourself if you find them that tiresome."

He was more amused than spiteful. Eries, ironically, would have preferred the latter. King Aston had expressed the same suspicions about Dryden when Eries had talked with him after breakfast. Unlike his daughters though, he was most happy with the prospect of his son-in-law rejoining the family. He had promised not to push Millerna into anything. He had also hinted around that while Eries should not do any pushing either, if Millerna should ask her opinion, it never hurt to focus on the positives of a situation.

Eries hadn't committed one way or the other to her father, but to her sister, she had decided she would support her regardless of what her decisions would be. Millerna had given Eries so much this morning. The best way to reciprocate would be to trust that Millerna would use the same maturity she had displayed in her dealings with Dryden.

However, since she neither trusted Meiden, nor believed him capable of even a fraction of Millerna's thoughtfulness, Eries felt free to rub her own take on Dryden's return into his face. "Eager to see my seat empty, Meiden? Or perhaps you're looking forward to seeing someone else fill it? An old friend, maybe? Or an oldest son…"

Meiden chuckled to himself. "You must have spoken to your father or sister. I admit, I haven't been wearing my best poker face this morning, but you can excuse a man for being glad that he will see his son again soon."

His not bothering to deny it took some fun out of the needling but it was still better than the alternative of listening to two grown men split hairs over a few pounds of steel. Eries knew she was being a bad delegate, but then so was Meiden and everyone else in the room. More so now after Bennor had caught a second wind.

"So it is fatherly love that has you in such a good mood. I knew it couldn't be because you actually believed Dryden would go along with you. Only a fool would think such a thing and you've always been quick to show me how little a fool you are."

"Clever, Princess, at least in wordplay. I do have to question your cleverness in politics."

Eries had to question Meiden's sanity. Did he know his own son at all? Glibly, she asked him that very thing. "Please don't question me too thoroughly else you might also call into to question your son's cleverness."

Meiden would not be dissuaded. "I have no fear of that. You have less in common with him than you realize and much more in common with me."

That was low. An insult to her of that level required removing a glove and slapping Meiden with it to be properly answered. Eries would never dream of doing anything so dramatic during a summit meeting though. Besides, she wasn't wearing gloves.

Some sort of answer was still needed and there were ways to slap someone without actually lifting a finger. "What exactly is it that you think we have in common? Tread carefully. It's considered treason to impugn the integrity, intelligence and basic human decency of royalty."

"Ah, Princess," Meiden laughed again, "truly you wound me with your harsh words. It is only the balm of knowing that, in the end, you will realize how mistaken you are that keeps me going."

_If only that were the reason he keeps deluding himself. _Eries thought. _I'd work even harder to disabuse him of his notions if it meant he'd fall over dead._

She was thinking metaphorically of course. Eries would never wish anyone such ill fortune, even on her own worst enemy - who, as she thought about it, was actually Meiden.

She'd settled on having the last laugh instead. If and when Dryden ever assumed a seat at Asturia's table, he'd be on her side – an alliance made all the sweeter because Meiden was relying on it coming to him.

Eries was aware that Meiden was likely thinking the exact same thing, but didn't dwell on it. Bennor and the Cesarian had finally reached an accord and she wasn't going to let comparisons to Meiden ruin her relief.

The summit broke for lunch shortly thereafter. Eries typically waited for everyone else to leave before getting up but Marqesita didn't allow for that. She was up, out of her chair and dragging Eries out of the Hall before Lord Poniard had a chance to set the gavel he used to sound for the end of sessions back on its stand.

"Impatient, are we?" Eries asked teasingly.

"If I were that impatient, I would have killed Bennor ten minutes into that ridiculous display. No one in that chamber would have blamed me, either."

Eries started to laugh, but one look at Marqesita told her that her fellow princess wasn't being jocular. Bennor had done something to aggravate his sister, something a great deal worse than nattering on about steel.

Something that was best discussed in private. Eries suggested they take lunch in her quarters. Marqesita readily agreed. Eries gestured for Allen to follow behind them and they set off.

Once at Eries' quarters, Allen let the ladies have their privacy, stationing himself outside the door. No sooner did Marqesita thank him for his consideration then she began venting.

"He's up to something, I know it. The three of us were supposed to meet with each other last night so we could approve of the plans to announce our father's death after the end of the summit, but he showed nearly an hour late. An hour late! For something as important as this! "

It was puzzling but not necessarily damning. Eries asked her what excuse Bennor had given for his tardiness.

"He claimed Tellot gave him the wrong time and he had been busy reading up on the steel industry in order to prepare for today."

That all sounded plausible. Tellot wasn't the most reliable source of information and Bennor had spewed several books worth of information this morning. Eries hesitantly raised the issue.

"Yes, but you don't have the full story. I know Tellot's an idiot so I wrote down the damn time and told him to give it to Bennor. And Bennor doesn't need to study for hours to nitpick stupid points. I'm telling you, he is definitely up to something."

_Such as meeting with other delegates to stage a cabal as we are doing? _If Eries kept drawing comparisons between her and her opponents, she was going to grow as irate as Marqesita. She needed to play the voice of reason instead. "What did Tellot say? That he'd given him the right time?"

"Tellot wasn't even there by the time Bennor showed up. He got tired of waiting and went off to explore Palas' taverns. You'd think he'd have them all memorized by now considering that's what he's done every single night."

Eries didn't suppose there was any chance Tellot was drinking his grief away. She wondered if that might be another reason Marqesita was so upset. After all, they had known Bennor was meeting with Meiden Fassa from the start. That he continued to meet with the merchant – or someone else – shouldn't be so surprising.

It was clearly vexing to Marqesita. She continued to fume about Bennor, damning him for this and that and getting so consumed by her anger, she let too much information slip. "We're supposed to be working together to protect our country and he's out plotting on how to profit from our father's death. That's why he's been speaking up so much at the summit, pretending to speak for all of Egzardia. In his mind, Tellot's already been exposed as a bastard and all of Egzardia knows what really happened to Tavas."

"Who is Tavas?" Eries asked automatically.

Eries should have thought before she spoke. A look of panic crossed Marqesita's face before she turned away entirely. "No one you need to be concerned with," she said curtly.

"Of course," Eries replied. "I shouldn't have asked. You're upset; I don't wish to do anything that would upset you further." Inside, she was dying to know more. Whoever this Tavas was and whatever it was that really happened to him, it affected Marqesita's ability to ascend the throne of Egzardia. She wouldn't have mentioned it in the same breath as Tellot's illegitimacy otherwise.

But Eries couldn't ask, especially not after Marqesita began thanking her.

"I appreciate that, Eries, more than you know. It's a private matter, one that I've kept private for almost ten years. As much as I trust you, I feel that just talking about it would somehow set it loose."

"Marqesita…" It ran deeper than Eries had supposed. But then, Eries had never supposed her friend was carrying such a burden in the first place. Curiosity and a genuine desire to see that burden lifted made her, however hesitantly, go forward. "If it's something that horrible, perhaps you should speak to someone else about it. Only when you're ready, naturally, but –"

"Don't hold your breath. This is something I'd rather forget."

"But if Bennor refuses to forget or worse, he tells others, you're not going to have much of a choice."

"There is that," Marqesita sighed. She left the sitting area to sit on the divan at the foot of Eries' bed. She brought her knees up to her chest and set her chin on them. Eries was reminded of a younger Millerna, coming over to her room and sitting in the same position after Marlene had left for Freid.

Marqesita wasn't a child though. This was worse than a sister moving away.

"I won't ask you to tell me," Eries promised. She knew it would be a violation of the trust Marqesita said she had in her to do so. If she wanted to tell her, Marqesita would tell her. All Eries would do until then is prepare to listen.

"Thanks, but you know you're just making it easier to tell you," Marqesita laughed humorlessly. "I did tell you about my father, maybe I could tell you about this."

"Whatever you say to me will be in the strictest confidence. I can even send Allen away if you're afraid he'll be able to hear through the door."

"Willing to get rid of him, are you? You must really mean it."

On one hand, it was nice to see the same old Marqesita come out to tease. On the other, there was the subject matter she was teasing about. It wasn't the first time she'd made off-color remarks about Allen but it was the first time they were actually on the mark.

"You don't have to," Marqesita insisted before Eries could answer one way or the other. "He's a good man. He wouldn't eavesdrop. And even if he didn't, you'd keep him in line for me, right?"

"He'll do as I tell him." That came out more authoritarian than Eries intended and, on the off chance Allen was listening at the door, it wasn't something she wanted him to hear. "I mean, if it's a reasonable request."

Marqesita had reclined against the back of the divan, her misery allayed by her amusement at Eries doing her best not to squirm. She wondered if it was possible to actually get Eries to flinch.

One never knew until one tried and she really did want Eries to know what she thought of Allen. It seemed important. "You're lucky to have him, you know – as a friend or whatever else he may become. He really_ is_ a good man. Must be something about the Caeli uniform. Alucier's about the best man I've ever found and even that roommate of his has a good heart. At least he's honest about what he wants from a woman and he'll take 'no' for an answer."

"He'll just tell all his friends he got a 'yes' though," Eries said mildly. Marqesita's description of Revius, while accurate, made Eries question what sort of men she was used to dealing with and if this mysterious Tavas was one of their cruder specimens. It didn't sound promising.

It didn't get any better as Marqesita went on. "For once, all talk and no action is a good trait. But you don't want to hear about Revius or Alucier or Allen do you? You want to hear about dear, old Tavas. Dear, old, dead Tavas."

_Dead? _That detail was a little shocking when combined with the already ominous 'what really happened to Tavas'. Eries didn't know how to respond so she didn't. This was Marqesita's story to tell. Any words from Eries would be an interruption.

"Tavas," Marqesita continued, "was the son of our most prominent member of parliament. His family had been angling for years to marry into the royal family – to cement their own power, to be sure – and it looked like they had their chance with me. They got a little impatient though. Tavas was eight years older than me and I was only fifteen. Believe it or not, but I was quite the innocent little girl back then. I wasn't ready to be anybody's wife and since Egzardians aren't in as a big of a hurry to marry off their girls as Asturians, it was decided that while we would get engaged, nobody would be exchanging any vows for at least another year of two.

"My family was happy with the arrangement. As it turned out, Tavas' family wasn't so thrilled. An engagement could be broken off, a more suitable prince-to-be could come along. Not that there's a big list of eligible bachelors out there. You're only about four years younger than I am so you've probably seen all the same options I had."

Eries nodded. The dearth of suitable spouses was something she was grateful for. It had kept her single all the way to the age of twenty-one - practically an old maid by princess standards. But Eries never thought of herself that way. She had never thought about Marqesita that way either. She hadn't thought about her unmarried status at all really. Eries had assumed that because of the other woman's less than traditional approach towards men, Marqesita had tried and succeeded to avoid marriage just as she had.

It was foolish to assume such things, but as Marqesita went on, her voice growing softer, Eries got the distinct feeling that by the time the story was told, both of them would wish the assumptions had been true,

"So there wasn't any real reason for them to worry. But that didn't stop them," Marqesita continued. "They thought they could speed things up by having Tavas woo me. It seemed all right at first. He wasn't the perfect man, but he seemed good enough. He was intelligent, thoughtful about his family, seemed to have the same ideals I had. Unfortunately, he had also inherited his family's impatience."

Marqesita hesitated. This time, Eries respected her reluctance and kept silent. Inexperienced as she was, Eries knew enough to know what this Tavas' impatience might have led to.

She could only hope this assumption was false as well. When Marqesita began speaking again though, each word seemed to confirm her fears.

"As my sixteenth birthday approached, he started becoming so….insistent. He demanded a date for the wedding. He said I was old enough and had no reason to keep putting him off. That just made me want to delay the wedding even further. And it kept going on and on and getting worse and worse well past my birthday until the night he decided he wasn't going to wait anymore.

"We were alone together in my room. We'd had the worst argument yet and I'd had it. I told him I was going to cancel the engagement. He did not accept that. He thought if he could make me his wife in practice, it would force me to agree to be his wife on paper."

And then, Marqesita actually broke into a dark smile. "He thought he could take liberties with me. Well, all that bastard got was a torn dress before I took liberties with the dagger I kept by my bedside."

"You…" Eries faltered. "You…killed him?"

"I didn't mean to," Marqesita said and her smile faded a touch. "I wanted him to stop. I'm not even sure what I was doing, just screaming and lashing out. I know I cut myself a few times. When the guards came, they thought both of us had been attacked. _I _had been, but I didn't know to explain that to them."

"You thought they would take Tavas' side?"

"Oh, come on, Eries. You know what's expected of a good, little princess in regards to her husband."

"But you weren't married yet!"

"Engaged to be married. Same thing when it's a man's word against a woman's. Of course, Tavas' wasn't doing much talking by then…" she trailed off bitterly.

"My god, Marqesita, I'm so sorry. I had no idea…"

"You have no reason to be sorry or to have any idea. Father ensured everything was kept very quiet. Officially, Tavas _was_ killed by an intruder and my life was spared due to the quick response of the guards."

"That's what you told everyone?"

"That's what my father told everyone. I never had any doubt he would take my side. When I told him what happened, he promised me that he would protect me. There would be no gossip about his daughter killing her fiancé."

He must have been true to his word. Palas wasn't just the capital of Asturia but the gossip capital of all of Gaea. Yet Eries had never heard as much of a whisper about this. "How did he manage to cover it up?" Eries asked, curious and a bit in awe.

"As I said, the official story was an intruder had gotten into my quarters. As a way to make Tavas' family happy and not too suspicious, Father's story had him dying to protect his beloved bride-to-be. Basically, Tavas and I had returned to my quarters only to find a thief trying to steal some of the royal jewelry. The thief panicked, lunged at me with a knife and Tavas used himself as a shield. For some reason no one bothered to question, the thief hung around long enough to deliver several more knife wounds and then took off into the night, never to be found."

"And Tavas' family accepted this?"

"As far as I know. It's not as if they had much choice any way. Tavas was dead. If they went along with my father's story, he died a hero. If they questioned it, Tavas was still dead and they would have just called the king and his daughter liars."

It wouldn't be the first time a lie had been accepted as truth in the name of political expedience. There were plenty examples in the Aston family alone. None so violent, but definitely with similar ramifications. Eries considered the ones Marqesita faced if the truth finally came out while the throne of Egzardia was still vacant.

"But if one of your brothers was the one questioning it," she mused aloud, "the claim would have more legitimacy."

"And without my father's backing, it goes back to my word which is full of holes when someone takes too long a look at it versus his without me having the advantage of higher rank."

"But even if it did come out, you did nothing wrong!"

"Hah!" Marqesita spat. "As if that matters! Tavas' father is still in charge of parliament and he's still angry that his dear boy didn't get a chance to be a prince. He's never given any sign that he didn't believe the story, but that didn't stop from treating me coldly over the years. He probably thinks if I had gone ahead and married Tavas when he wanted me to, this might never have happened. He'd have a grandchild or two in line for the throne at worst and a son at best. If he found out the truth…"

"He'd throw his and the rest of parliament support towards your brothers and against you," Eries concluded. "And after it's revealed Tellot isn't a legitimate successor that leaves Bennor as the only real choice."

"Yes, dear Bennor who's been disappearing for long lengths of time to 'read' in his room where no one can vouch for him and the same dear Bennor who's been seen talking to Meiden Fassa."

Small wonder Marqesita was so suspicious then. The threat to her claim to the throne was very real with Bennor being the likely victor if the fight over it got dirty. With Meiden involved, it was bound to be downright filthy. He and the leader of Egzardia's parliament sounded like two peas in pod too. The two of them joining forces would be something on the bad side of disastrous.

"So what do we do?" Eries asked.

"I think keeping better track of Bennor and Fassa might be a good start."

"And how are we going to accomplish that without arousing their suspicions?"

"Hmm, let's see…" For the first time since Marqesita told the story of Tavas, the old, mischievous light returned her eyes. "We know one Caeli who is in charge of security for the summit. We know another who is in charge of security for the palace…"

"All right, all right, I know where you're going," Eries said. It was so obvious, Tellot would have been able to figure it out. A drunken Tellot. "Are you sure you want to use Alucier and Revius like this?"

"No, I don't _want_ to use them, but I'm afraid we're at the point where we _need_ to. Besides, they're supposed to be monitoring everyone's comings and goings as it is. All they'll have to do is share that information with us."

Couched in those terms, it was completely harmless. It was their job to keep track of all the delegates. They filed reports each night on anything they found suspicious. Complying with their request just meant they would expand their definition of suspicious and bring any interesting tidbits that wound up in the reports to Eries and Marqesita's attention. Those reports were public information anyway.

And the Order of Caeli was supposed to under the discretion of Asturia's royalty. Technically, that meant the king, but Eries was serving as his proxy for the summit. Also, that discretion shouldn't involve abetting and/or participating in a secret political cabal but it was for the greater good. And it was only the two of them. Two out of twelve - or a sixth of the organization – if one wanted to get mathematical about it. Allen was helping too, though, so that really made it a fourth. If she put her mind to it, Eries was sure she could find something for Seclas to do to bring the fraction up to a third.

Eries didn't know which was a worse sign: that these rationalizations where coming more easily to her or that she was getting more cynical about them.

In the end, what needed to be done needed to be done. At least Eries could still claim she felt guilty about it. "I'll talk to them. It won't be a problem with Revius and Bennor's not exactly Alucier's favorite person anyway, so he'll have an excuse to compromise his professional integrity."

"You make it sound so unseemly," Marqesita huffed. She was not put out for long. "Any reason why Alucier dislikes Bennor? Other than Bennor being an insufferable little jerk at times, I mean?"

She was obviously fishing for a particular answer which Eries was happy to give to her. "You know Alucier feels protective of you. From the second you told us about Bennor on that carriage ride to the palace, he's disliked him. If he knew the whole truth-"

"He's not going to, understood?"

"If he knew the whole truth," Eries went on regardless, "he'd be even more protective of you. And, I think, proud of you."

"Proud of me? For what? Being lucky enough to have a knife in the right place at the right time? Panicking violently instead of panicking quietly?" She was acting dismissive, but there was a tiny bit of hope in her that Eries was right.

"Strength isn't always about what happened in one moment. Sometimes it's about how you went on from that moment."

"And here I am, in a fight over the throne with a good chance of winning. Not bad for a girl who was once destined to be married off young and serve the function of a glorified broodmare."

Among other notions that had been disabused tonight, Eries had to reconsider just about every book she'd read on Egzardia. "I always thought your country was so much more advanced in their treatment of woman."

"We like to claim that we are," Marqesita sighed. "And some of us actually are. Plus, if we get our way, having a queen in control of the country all by herself would go a long way to bringing everybody in line."

As if they needed more incentive. Eries had gotten some though. The difference between the secrets in Marqesita's past and the wide potential of her future were too large not to fight for.

And she and Eries _would _fight for it – with whatever and whoever they could muster.

* * *

Next up: A Sort of Homecoming (Yes, I already used that title for the Alucier story but it fits too perfectly, so I'm being lazy and recycling). Dryden's back in town and he's got a spot on Eries' 'To Muster' list. 


	18. A Sort of Homecoming

Intrigues of a Princess

XVII: A Sort of Homecoming

They made the trip from Plesta to Asturia in record time. They certainly didn't dally for conversation. Meiden's man announced they would be taking Dryden's ship back while leaving the ship he and Revius had taken behind. That was the end of the dialogue. Once on the bridge of Dryden's ship, the three men stood in silence the whole way, barely even looking at each other.

This was by design. Revius made it a priority to have Meiden Fassa's son on one side and Meiden Fassa's goon on the other and to never let the twain meet.

Dryden was happy with the arrangement. His father's employee looked typical of the kind of man Meiden hired for 'special' assignments. That is to say, ruthless and damned efficient about it. The sack and shoulder scenario Revius had suggested was probably the nicest method of retrieval the man would have come up with. Dryden didn't like thinking about some of the worst.

He knew Meiden wouldn't think of them; he'd simply trust his man to get the job done by whatever means necessary and then not expect any details once the mission was complete. Ignorance being blissful and all that.

That was one trick to keep a clean conscious. Dryden had tried getting his father to do conscious cleaning the old fashioned way: not doing anything that could be construed as say, _evil_. The rehabilitation efforts hadn't gone on long. They had been as strenuous as lugging a boulder up a mountain and less productive. His mother hadn't been of any help, insisting that Dryden should try to understand his father better instead.

Dryden, in general, was the type to seek out understanding. On this particular front however, he took a pass.

It wasn't that he hated his father or anything. He just wished he could like him more. Meiden was a genius at what he did and had been a very thorough and enthusiastic teacher when he had passed his knowledge onto his son. Those days hadn't been bad. Dryden had been able to feel the pride coming from his father each time he had successfully completed a deal. He had even felt it when the deal wasn't so successful. But sometime, over the years, Dryden had come to feel there was a limit to how much wealth and power he wanted to acquire and an absolute line he would not cross to get either.

Meiden didn't seem to have a limit. He wasn't much for lines too.

So there wasn't much understanding in their relationship. There hadn't been much of anything since the first time Dryden had set out to build his own fleet. Even when he'd come back to Palas and all through the wedding preparations, they'd had maybe a few hours together, always amongst colleagues or other family members to provide a buffer.

Given how his father had set this upcoming reunion in motion, Dryden had no reason to expect things to be much different. Lack of a reason though didn't stop him from having a gut feeling to the contrary. From the news he had heard of Asturia, Meiden, along with Princess Eries, was busy heading up a world summit. He shouldn't have the time to deal with a prodigal son nor any desire to since said son could presumably kick him out of his seat at said summit.

Yet Meiden wasn't sparing any expense at making sure Dryden did get his butt back to Palas. Thugs of the caliber of the man he had sent did not come cheap. Trying to blackmail a Caeli, especially one who was close friends with Eries, was a dicey proposition. There was a payoff in there somewhere. Dryden wasn't able to see it just yet but he knew it was there. Meiden didn't do a damn thing unless he had something to gain.

His curiosity would have to wait. The plan he and Revius had worked out on their slow stroll back to the dockyard involved ditching Mr. Sunshine with the promise that Revius would deliver Dryden to Meiden. Eventually, this would actually occur but there was a slight detour they planned on taking to the third floor of the palace first.

Dryden fought the lingering bit of wariness in him. He wasn't going to see Millerna. At Revius' behest, he was going to speak to Eries to get the lay of the land. Of course, Millerna bedroom was only a little ways down the hall from her sister's. They'd be arriving at the palace after nightfall. In all likelihood, her bedroom is exactly where Millerna would be.

Picturing Millerna there, imagining her going about her routines, getting ready for bed…

The next thing Dryden knew, Revius was waving his hand in his face. "We're docking now," the Caeli repeated (though it was the first Dryden had heard of it). "Think you could join us?"

"Sorry," Dryden replied. "My mind was elsewhere."

"Uh, huh."

"I was thinking it might not be so bad to see Millerna tonight."

"Yeah, I thought you were thinking about her from the vacant stare and the stupid grin on your face. She's not really my type but she obviously does something for you."

Now Dryden was thinking it would be awful to see Millerna tonight, at least with current company in tow. Revius could fling innuendo as fast and as pointed as those little knives.

He was annoyingly as accurate too.

0-0-0-0

Eries had made it a point to go to bed early tonight. Allen had begged off early to take Celena to a play. He'd invited Eries but she'd declined. The summit had been its usual draining self and the talk she had had with Marqesita had been weighing heavily on her all day.

She hoped it was weighing less heavily on Marqesita. To have such a horrible thing happen to you in the past was bad enough, but to have to face it again as a threat against you? Suddenly, the wonderfully liberated politics of Egzardia didn't look very wonderful anymore. Suddenly, Eries was even more appreciative of how her father had shielded all of his daughters from suitors like that Tavas, how he had more or less shielded Eries from suitors completely.

She thought of what Millerna had said about it. It was strange that Aston either couldn't or wouldn't find just the right man for her when he'd had no trouble coming up with men for Marlene and Millerna. Eries always had been the odd sister out, but not _that_ odd.

She'd been useful though, on the council. That alone couldn't account for it, but some explanation was better than none and Eries was hesitant to get a full answer from her father until she figured out a way to ask the question.

With so much going on, there didn't seem to be a right time. He was testing her ability to handle Meiden. Pondering the suitor-free life she was grateful for anyway wasn't an activity of a tough, focused leader.

Being tough and focused required being rested so she put those thoughts out of her mind and tried to go to sleep. She had a modicum of success before Fate, in the form of some idiot banging on her door, decided the world was much better with her awake.

Wrapping a robe around her, she stumbled toward the door, choice words on her tongue for the person who had disturbed her.

"This had better be important," she admonished.

She swung open the door to find a smirking Revius and behind him, far sooner than she had expected to see him, Dryden.

Eries wasn't normally the type to shout out a person's name upon seeing him, but the grogginess had her off her game.

"Jeez, not so loud," Dryden whispered. "It's bad enough he was banging on the door loud enough to wake the dead, I don't need you announcing my arrival to the entire palace."

"Not that it's the entire palace he's worried about, but one particular resident thereof who lives right down hall," Revius said. "Yep, right at that door there."

He pointed for emphasis. In the instant that he turned back to laugh playfully at Dryden, the door began to creek open. Revius never had the chance to turn back around to see it. Dryden had shoved him and Eries too through the door.

"This is not how I wanted to return to the palace," Dryden declared.

Eries and Revius weren't thrilled either. In the shoving, feet had been stepped on, elbows had collided and Eries' robe had slipped off one shoulder.

Actually, Revius was okay with that last part. Eries was not. She gathered the robe together with one hand and smacked him with the other.

"Fine," Revius protested, "see if I ever drag a brother-in-law back to Palas for you ever again."

"Oh, so now you're claiming you did it for Eries," Dryden said. "You have all kinds of excuses, don't you?"

Eries was interested in hearing them. She knew exactly who would have ordered Dryden to be dragged back but she was clueless as to why Revius had followed those orders. "Yes, Revius, please tell me what's going on."

Revius knew a Command when he heard it. He gave her the abridged version. "Weasel Merchant wants son back. Weasel Merchant hires scary guy to handle one part of it. Weasel Merchant tries to blackmail handsome, valiant knight to handle the other part. Handsome, valiant knight does the job anyway because the other option is to let scary guy handle the whole deal. Handsome, valiant knight gets the job done but instead of going directly to Weasel Merchant, he and Wussy Merchant decide to give Slappy Princess a heads up. And there we are."

Wherever that was. Eries was eager to find out with as little distraction as possible. "Revius, go patrol the halls. Make sure Dryden and I aren't disturbed."

There was the small hitch of Revius not being in uniform, but he kept quiet and decided to work around it. One did not disagree with Eries when she used that tone. One nodded, backed out of the room slowly, then took off for the laundries in the basement of the palace to see if one could round up some spare togs.

One also sat down when one was told to do so. Dryden maintained dignity by taking his time in picking out the coziest chair in the room. He flounced into it, his posture and expression a perfect match. "This is _really_ not how I wanted to return to the palace."

"But you are here now, Dryden." Eries sat down in the chair beside him, her rigid posture also a compliment to her mood. "I take it you plan on doing more than hiding from my sister?"

"Not hiding," he insisted. "I'm merely waiting for the right time to see her. You know how important timing is in making a sale."

"Really?" Eries replied evenly. "Since when has my sister been a financial transaction?"

"That's not what I meant," Dryden said, waving his arms as if to physically drive away the wrong impression. "It's what my old man would have meant, but you know me better than that. Damn, I need to get some sleep. I'm talking like an idiot."

He did look tired, which was a good excuse for misspeaking but not to give in and call it a night. Eries could picture Meiden waiting, wide awake in his office and setting plans into motion. She might not get another chance to speak one-on-one with Dryden for a while- if at all.

"I know you're not much like your father," Eries said, earning a prize for understatement. "Your father, however, seems to think the two of you have a lot in common."

"Well, we are both merchants, know the value of a good, comfy robe," Dryden recited. "Our names rhyme too, but Mom did that on purpose. I'm not getting much beyond that."

"Neither do I, but Meiden's brought you back here for a reason."

"You don't think he did it because he missed me so dang much?" Dryden laughed.

It would have been polite to laugh back, but Eries wasn't finding any humor in Meiden Fassa's actions. Truth be told, neither was Dryden. The mirth he'd managed to scrape together was empty and cynical, fueled by the idea that it was better to laugh at danger because danger didn't give a damn what you did in response so you might as well get some chuckles in before danger changed over to full-blown trouble.

Of course, Dryden had already been quasi-kidnapped and sent back to the last place he wanted to go, placing those dry chuckles on the late side. There was another cliché – better late than never – he could have fallen back on but wordplay in the face of danger didn't sound as bold and raffish as laughter.

And while the danger that his father represented might not be directed at him personally, Dryden knew he'd be dealing with it one way or the other – trying to cut it off, picking up the pieces, unwittingly or unwillingly playing the accomplice if Meiden was in good form.

Hell, Dryden reluctantly admitted to himself, if Meiden was in _top_ form, those adverbs might find a way to shift to knowingly and freely before he knew what was happening.

Meiden had a touch. Subtle, blatant and all the areas in between, Meiden knew how to get what he wanted, from getting his son to pursue a career as a merchant to getting him to marry the princess Dryden had dismissed as a little tomboy before he'd set off to build his fleet. Granted, nature had taken care of filling out the details on Millerna until the tomboy was tucked away under curves and long, silken hair but that just proved a theory – given time, everything would fall into place for Meiden.

Sometimes his father had to push pretty hard to get those things rolling towards their inevitable destination. Other times, they fell into place as if meant to.

Dryden wondered which method Meiden was counting on to get him on his side. He thought his father would have to be pushing this time around, because he could tell for certain Eries was doing her fair share of pulling.

"When you talk to him," she asked, "could you take note of what he says? How he says it? I know he's planning something but I've no idea what, when, where and how."

"You want me to spy on my old man?"

Eries was very direct. "Yes."

"Don't be so coy, Eries." Dryden's laughter was real this time. "I do appreciate the honesty. Might have done it anyway, but it is nice dealing with people who are up front for a change."

"Up front," Eries repeated. She was a few disclosures short of earning the compliment. She saw no reason why she shouldn't try to get full merit. "Actually, it's isn't only me who will benefit."

"Do tell."

"I've been speaking with a few of the other delegates..."

"Not about the weather, I assume."

"We've come to the conclusion that it would be wise to keep each other's council and to cast votes in the summit accordingly."

"Hmm, that sounds awfully innocent and nothing at all like a conspiracy," Dryden said. "On a totally unrelated note, did you know one of the big items I've been moving since the end of the war is this new brand of lumber that looks like it was cut from a tree but is actually a composite of leftover bits of wood and a whole bunch of other crap? The makers call it wood, I sell it as wood and the people who buy it use it as wood. That doesn't make it true wood though."

"Fine," Eries sighed, "we're actively working together to ensure we get our way. There, Dryden, my allies and I are exactly as I claim."

The admission didn't stop Dryden from going on with his story. "Thing is, I can barely keep a decent supply of the stuff. And I was actually hesitant from selling it at first. I didn't want to be the kind of merchant who sells inferior goods just to get a short term profit."

"So why do you sell it?"

"Because I saw how good the stuff was. For a composite of leftovers and crap, it does the job. Does it well, too."

"So in your opinion, my associates and I are 'leftovers and crap'?"

That part of the metaphor might not have really fit, but it was worth sticking in to Dryden just to hear Eries enunciate the unintentional description with that air of clinical detachment she was so good at. Lest it turn too sharply towards him, he quickly added, "No, I just meant you're an eclectic group that somehow comes together to form something stronger than your individual elements."

That did sound better. It might have even sounded sincere if Dryden had a clue who Eries was working with. She mentioned this minor issue, sounding neither clinical nor detached.

"I meant you're all from different countries," Dryden responded. "You're all bound to have different personalities. There, will you buy that?"

"Again with the merchant metaphors. Is this something Meiden drilled into your head as a child?"

"Do you really want to know what the old man taught me?"

Eries let out a hiss of disgust that Dryden took as a large 'no'. Still, he was a sharing person. "He taught me to always go after what I want, by whatever means I saw fit and to not give up until I had it."

"I might agree with the first and third parts. It's that second part that has me worried."

"Yeah, that is the stickler, isn't it? And the one that always comes back to bite everyone in the ass."

"Everyone except Meiden, that is."

"Hmph, maybe," Dryden mused. "Maybe not, considering you're expecting his son and apparently counted on ally to go spying on him."

"Nothing he hasn't brought upon himself," Eries said. She wasn't going to waste any sympathy on the man. His son was another matter. "But are you sure you want to do this? I know I was rather blunt in my request, but still, he is your father."

"Yeah, and that does count for something. Don't know what just yet…" Dryden thought for a moment, then chuckled, "Family…Sure can be weird, can't it?"

Weird being an understatement, Eries couldn't disagree. Her own ups and downs with her family seemed trite in comparison. At least nobody was spying on anybody. Eries and her father were on the same side. Millerna, against all expectations and hopes, was supporting her on all avenues.

Eries vowed to throw a few extra 'thank you's Millerna's way. She doubted they would be enough. She and Dryden had discussed what his return would mean politically, but they'd barely touched on the personal.

Given how quickly Dryden had flung her and Revius through the door upon the mere suggestion of an impending Millerna appearance, the personal was shaping up to be as touchy as the political.

She already had her hands full with one. She didn't have the time to pick up the other, especially not with the state of her own personal life. It was Millerna's life anyway. It was up to her to decide how she wanted to deal with Dryden or if she would deal with him at all. There would be no 'butting in' on Eries' part. Her support of Millerna would be of the silent, non-suggestive type. No nudging or needling of any sort was to take place.

This is what Eries told herself as she latched unto the loose thread of the conversation and gave it a pull. "Family is definitely very complicated. You're still technically my brother-in-law. You'd think that might count for something too in my dealings with Meiden."

"I thought you used it as ammunition against him a couple times?" Eries wasn't the only one who could be blunt. Dryden derived more amusement from it though.

"Um, well, yes. But I was thinking aside from that."

"Really? You honestly want to be buddies with my old man? Or maybe, you were just trying to bring up Millerna…"

There was less use in hiding this than there had been in hiding the goals of her cabal. "Since you mentioned her, I have to say I couldn't help but notice a certain reluctance on your part to encounter her out in the hallway."

"Would you want to talk to your estranged spouse while that Revius guy was hanging around?"

Only a fool or a liar would say 'yes'. But there had to be more to it than simply wanting to avoid the minor embarrassments that could be caused by the kind of commentary Revius was known for (or rather, the major embarrassments that _would_ be caused). "Revius is gone now. If you wanted to talk to Millerna in private…"

"You could arrange it. How sisterly of you."

"Let's be honest," she said. "The last time I talked to you, you had these grand plans to come back and sweep Millerna off her feet. Unless you've developed some way of doing that without having to be in the same room as her, can I assume that plan's been changed somewhat?"

"Somewhat?" Dryden asked as if she couldn't be serious. "I was supposed to be on my way to Freid tonight. So yeah, the timetable's been altered a bit."

"You're a good merchant. You know how to respond to an unpredictable market."

"Weren't you the one picking on me for the merchant analogies?"

"Yes, I'm a hypocrite. Now answer me."

Suddenly, the concept of Eries forming a political cabal no longer sounded strange to Dryden. At first, he had wondered why she, after all those years of fighting on the straight and narrow path on the council, had switched to more circuitous routes. But now he saw it: she wasn't interested in playing defense anymore.

Not with Meiden, not with him.

That struck as more than a little unfair. They were on the same side; at least, he assumed they were. Eries had always been a big proponent of his marriage to Millerna. Why would taking off and leaving her sister in marriage limbo change that?

"Okay, okay," he relented. "The timetable's changed but the plan's still the same. I just need to get my bearings. The market may have changed since I was last here, if I may beat an already dead metaphor into the ground."

"You still love her?"

"Jeez, Eries, didn't know this was going to be an interrogation." The complaint was a formality. He knew his answer and he wasn't afraid to share it - annoyed maybe that he was being badgered into it, but definitely not afraid. "Yeah, I still love her. That's not something you need to keep asking to know the answer."

The warmth behind his assurance meant more to Eries than the words. Dryden was going to play this slowly, cautiously. Not even Meiden and the slimiest scheme he could ever conceive of was going to change that. Whatever Millerna's worries were, she wouldn't have to include being pressured.

Which wasn't to say Dryden would avoid pressing another person. She had grilled him. Now he was in the questioning mood.

"Has she said anything about me lately?"

"Well, um," Eries considered. _She seemed a little panicked at the thought of you returning _didn't sound like anything Dryden would ever want to hear. She cleaned up a little further. "I did speak to her this morning about you. She seemed…anxious."

"Anxious as in 'I can hardly wait' or anxious as in, 'oh my god, somebody get me away from here before he sees me'?"

"So that's what you were thinking when you shoved me and Revius through the door."

"Yes, I'm a…well, no, I'm not a hypocrite. That's you. So are you going to answer me or am going to have to add a few more points to your hypocrisy pile?"

"I have a pile?"

"Small one, just little stacks of 'you shouldn't be interested in Allen Schezar, Millerna' here and there. Not that I'm ungrateful for those, mind you."

"Hmm…" Eries forced a smile. Dryden was teasing, she knew, and if he had any inkling as to how large those stacks had become, he'd probably only tease her some more and be otherwise relieved, but Eries wasn't quite ready to be that close to her brother-in-law. She steered Dryden back to less awkward for her waters.

"I think Millerna's somewhere in between. It's not as if she's dreading seeing you again but you have to know what it impact it'll have on her. You've married her, left her and come back in fairly short order."

"That was never my intention," Dryden pointed out. "I wanted to give her room for her, for both of us to grow. I know she's still interested in medicine."

"Yes, she's given up the idea of practicing medicine herself, but she's going to do whatever she can to help others picks up the reins."

"Really…Hmm, sounds like something a supportive, well-connected husband could be a big help with…"

"And let me guess, while you're working closely with her on this project, she'll have the chance to realize how truly wonderful you are for her."

"That's how it goes in sentimental novels. Not that I've read any of the things. My mother's the fan," he was sure to add.

If Eries were married to Meiden, she might develop an addiction to escaping into romantic fantasies too. But as clichéd as the plots of those novels might be, Dryden did sound as if he was on to something. Encouraging him seemed to tip-toe a might too close to the whole embargo against nudging and needling (if providing – albeit unintentionally – Dryden with insider information hadn't brought her up to the edge already) so she simply nodded at him and said indifferently. "Well, do what you think you have to do."

"No offers to help?" Dryden sounded disappointed. "What kind of sister-in-law are you?"

"The non-interfering kind."

Dryden looked off to his left, blinked twice, then turned back to Eries. "Um, Eries…"

"Maybe in the past," Eries huffed, "I was heavy-handed with Millerna, but that's not the case any longer."

"Because you're too busy being heavy-handed with this summit thing."

"I…" Eries felt a twinge of desire to give a small demonstration on just how heavy her hand could be. But Dryden had already prepared a strong defense of that lop-sided half-smirk he was so good at, making it easier for her to be a non-violent kind of sister-in-law too. "Will you be serious," she snipped at him instead.

"Of course," he said, going the distance of straightening up in his seat to prove it. "It's just I heard a lot about you from Millerna when we were on the Crusade together coming back from Atlantis. Non-interfering is not the way she described you. And you painted a pretty vivid picture all on your own when you asked me to spy on my father."

She wondered exactly what those descriptions of Millerna's contained, but decided it was irrelevant. They'd been through so much since then anything she had said was long out of date. Dryden's assessment, on the other, was very current.

"I think my sister can handle herself," Eries admitted.

"But the world at large needs your help."

Pompous as it sounded, Eries agreed. "I know what your father's planning. I'm one of a few people who are in position to stop it. So, yes. The world at large needs me."

She expected him to laugh or something otherwise to skewer the sheer amount of ego in her statement. Dryden, instead, clapped his hands together appreciatively.

"Good, good," he said. "You really are serious. I just wanted to make doubly sure before I officially picked up your team's flag."

"Didn't you already agree…?"

He did laugh at her now. "Tsk, tsk, Eries. If you're going against my father, you need to pay more attention. I never said 'yes'. You wanted me to say it, so you heard it, but it wasn't coming from me."

She retraced his words, sure there was a 'yes' in there somewhere. She came up with nothing. She _would_ have to start paying more attention. "Very well, point taken," she sighed. "Was that a trick you picked up from Meiden?"

"I'll give my old man credit. He's damn good at what he does. Learning from him isn't necessarily a bad thing."

No, it wasn't, but Eries preferred having an ally who had learned from him instead being the one getting the education. Enough of Meiden had rubbed of on her already. She didn't want to actively study him.

Dryden parted with the promise he'd speak more with her tomorrow. If he delayed going to Meiden any longer, his father might get suspicious.

"You could tell him you tried to see Millerna," Eries suggested as an explanation. "You know he would like to hear that."

"Yes," Dryden said, "yes, he would." He stopped by the door of her room, ready to take off down the hall should the compliment he was about to give not be accepted graciously. "You know, you've got the makings of a good merchant yourself. You've certainly got the 'tell people what they want to hear' part down."

He heard a slight huff from Eries but there was no indication of any forthcoming injury to his person. This, of course, meant he had room to slide one more comment in. "No, really. You know how to sell your product and you know when you need to sell that product behind closed doors. Just work on a few things and you'd make a hell of a business partner. Heh, that's probably what my old man's thinking when he says you'll join him."

As the door closed behind him, Eries discovered there was a disadvantage as well in having an ally who had learned from Meiden: the insights Dryden could provide could reveal more than she cared to see.

0-0-0-0

Unhappy as Eries had been with his opinion on the similarities between her and his father, Dryden still would rather have hung around her room than find himself trudging slowly but surely to Meiden's office. He hoped the goon was gone; that would make things a little easier. He hoped Meiden had called it night early and was gone too. That would make things a lot easier.

The odds for this happening were low though. A team of wild horses being carried by a squad of guymelefs couldn't pull Meiden away from his office when a deal was about to close.

And Dryden knew he was a very big deal.

Son. Fellow merchant. Prince Regent. Dryden wasn't sure what any of those titles meant to him anymore. To Meiden, they meant everything.

As slow as he went, Dryden did eventually make it to the wing of the palace where Meiden's office was located. He looked at the door and the light coming from beneath it and wondered how this would play out.

"_Hey, Dad. Long time, no see! What's new? Really? Mom got a new carriage? Well, if that's all, I guess I'll be on my way then."_

Since that scenario was pure delusion anyhow, Dryden threw in a nice, paternal hug. He had vague memories of his father giving him one on rare occasions when he was younger – a lot younger.

"_Well, your hired help dragged me here. Might as well tell me what you want from me."_

This was more likely. Pure business, no time for niceties or catching up. He'd make it breezy as possible – no sense hurtling accusations while there was information to be had by playing along.

He chuckled inwardly as he settled in the mindset of his newest title - Spy. It almost seemed like a game. It could be a fun game too if everyone weren't so hell bent on being serious. Ruling the world was like that, he supposed.

He knocked casually on the door. He'd been away too long to assume the familiarity of barging in. His father's voice answered with an impatient, "Come in already."

He barely had one foot over the threshold when Meiden, somehow, without even taking his nose out of the ledger book he was holding, knew it was him. "Dryden?" he called out.

"Yeah, it's me," Dryden answered, stepping all the way into the office and wondering how his father had done that. Some sort of apparatus that let him see who was outside his office? Maybe the goon was still around, on watch and dutifully reporting on his whereabouts. The latter idea worried him. "How'd you know it was me?"

"A father knows, Dryden. A father knows."

_Well, yeah, _thought Dryden. _A father with an actual bond with his son would know, but that doesn't really answer my question._

To make things stranger, Meiden put his book away, took a moment to just look at his son, then actually got up from his desk to give him the hug Dryden had written off as a crazy fantasy.

"Uh, nice to see you too, Dad," Dryden said while wondering what the hell was going on. It was more likely to him that he had fallen asleep in the hall and was dreaming than that this was really happening.

"Your mother can't wait to see you," Meiden informed him after breaking the embrace. "It's been so long." He kept acting the part of the warm father, asking how Dryden's trip had been and what it felt like to be back in Palas. He gestured for Dryden to take a seat while he sat down on a rare clear spot on the corner of his desk.

_How was my trip? How does it feel to be back? _The questions were bizarre on two fronts. You don't ask someone who you, for all intents and purposes, kidnapped how they enjoyed the experience. How did a person even answer that question?

_The thug you hired was on the tacky side, but sending a Caeli did add a certain amount of class to the endeavor. All in all, I would rate the experience a three out of five._

Dryden doubted his father would appreciate the joke. Straight-talk, however, was always a reliable go-to, even when that talk was straight as a razor's edge. "May I point out for a moment that my trip was brought about by you hiring people to come get me?"

"Please," Meiden said dismissively, "you would have had to come back sooner or later. I just ensured it would be sooner. Too much can happen when you spend so much time away."

"So this was for my own benefit then? Jeez, Dad. Do you think I'm one of your new clients?"

Meiden scoffed at the very notion. "No, don't be foolish. I just don't think you've been thinking clearly. Your deep affection for Princess Millerna has been coloring your decisions."

"I kind of like it that way."

"Of course, of course. There's nothing wrong with taking your wife's feelings into consideration. Quite noble and forward thinking of you, actually. But I think you've been acting timid in regards to her when you should have been acting bold."

Now things had officially crossed over into weird. Being happy to see him was one thing. Giving him well-intentioned fatherly advice was another.

But then what sounded well-intentioned could always have ulterior motives. This was especially true when the man whose actions were in question were Meiden Fassa.

Dryden remembered the advice he had given Eries and proceeded with caution. "It's nice to know you're so concerned, Dad. Surprising but nice. However…"

"However nothing. You can't believe I'm concerned about you?"

"Without there being any concern for yourself heavily mixed in?"

Meiden briefly considered playing the aggrieved father but went with leveling with Dryden instead. After all, another of his lessons to Dryden was to know when your sales pitch isn't working and how to adjust strategy.

"If you need to hear it, then yes. I do have some self-interest in seeing you in a successful marriage with the princess. Personally and professionally."

That sounded more like his old man. Knowing that the game was in full swing ironically helped Dryden relax a little. Talking business always had been easier.

Dryden led off big. "Might that professional interest have something to do with this summit I've been hearing about?"

"So you have kept up with some current events," Meiden said, pleased he could cut to the chase too. "Yes, the summit's in full swing and with Grava still not feeling well enough to participate, Princess Eries and I have taken his seat at the bargaining table."

"I guess it would take two people," Dryden joked. He was hoping he'd be able to gauge Meiden's mood by how he responded to it.

He didn't respond at all, which in itself indicated how serious he was. "It's been a somewhat trying experience. Princess Eries is out of practice having been removed from the council for a while and she seems slow to relearn Asturian politics."

_If by Asturian politics, you mean making secret deals and manipulating people and circumstances, I think she's catching up much faster than you know. _Dryden wouldn't be delivering that progress report aloud. He did feel free to repeat his opinion on what constituted Asturian politics though. "So she's not into all the wheeling and dealing you find to be second nature."

That was a compliment in Meiden's eyes, whether Dryden had meant it that way or not. "No, she's not. I don't think she sees the big picture. She gets hung up on these small details…"

_Like ethics and morality…_

"…You'd think she'd never seen how business is done. But I have no doubt that she'll come around."

"Then why did you want me to come back so badly?"

"Hmm, why would I want the Prince Regent and de facto ruler of the country to come back and stand by my side?"

"Getting kind of ahead of yourself there, Dad. First, I'm not Prince Regent anymore. Gave back the ring, left the wife."

"Did you sign any divorce decrees that I'm unaware of?"

"Well, no. But…"

"Then you're still married and Princess Millerna just has an extra piece of jewelry in her box."

Dryden had figured there might be more to a royal divorce. He had a feeling if he wanted to know exactly how much more, Meiden would be able to tell him in staggering detail. This explanation would also include the many, many reasons why this would be a stupid option to pursue in equally staggering detail so Dryden didn't enquire. It wasn't a path he wanted to tread anyway.

He wasn't very good at pretending differently. He offered a few more feeble refutations of his status to Meiden, all of which were easily shot down.

"You're not even trying, are you?" Meiden surmised correctly.

"It's not like I don't want to be married to Millerna," Dryden admitted. "It's just I don't want to be Prince Regent, especially not for the reasons you want me to be."

"You said the same thing about being a merchant and look at how things have turned out."

"Yeah, but…"

"But what? Tell me you don't love what you do. Tell me it hasn't brought you fulfillment."

"Because I've done things the way I wanted."

"And you think your marriage and rule over this country would be different?"

Dryden tried to come up with a way to say 'Yes, because you're going to abuse my power every which way you can for fun and profit and generally be a complete bastard about it' without sounding like too much of a disrespectful son. For his sake and Meiden's. Dryden knew he'd have to face his mother eventually and she did not take kindly to any disparaging remarks about her husband, regardless of who they came from.

He settled on, "I think you might have more interest in this particular venture than any other things I've done in the past. After all, if I screw this up, there won't be any more chances to get to the throne."

"And that's all I could possibly be interested in, isn't it?" Meiden hopped off the desk and began slowly circling the chair Dryden was sitting in. "I know I'm a manipulative little weasel, to use a term Princess Eries seems to be unaware that I can hear her saying. I know I'm a man of great ambition and equal greed. Whatever insults people wish to fling at me, delusional is the furthest from the truth."

_That's not what Eries thinks_, Dryden thought, _or haven't you overheard that tidbit yet_? Honestly, if Meiden really did believe he'd have his son and political opponent obediently going along with his plans, Dryden would have to agree with her. He'd keep that conclusion to himself. Meiden was just getting started and Dryden didn't want to break his momentum.

Meiden was known to say too much when he got overexcited.

And Meiden was very passionate about what he was saying. He just wasn't saying quite what Dryden was expecting to hear.

It was a surprise Dryden wouldn't call unpleasant.

"I know what kind of man I am. But you don't know why I'm that kind of man. I haven't fought as much as I have and in the way that I have for no reason. Do you remember anything about your great grandfather, my grandfather?"

"Not really," Dryden answered. The Fassa family history started growing sparse right around where that particular ancestor was concerned. "Why? What was he like?"

Meiden stopped his pacing. "Poor. No, destitute would be a better word. Moved from shack to shack and sometimes he didn't have any shelter at all. Did whatever work he could just so he and his family wouldn't starve."

Dryden wrestled with the concept that the mighty Fassa merchants were once among Asturia's poor. The concept pinned him to the mat in record time and wouldn't let him up. "So how did we…"

"How did _he, _you mean. And that's not even correct. He did find a job at a stall whose owner took pity on him. Sold dresses, I believe. I'm not sure because he worked so damn hard at that job and sold so damn much that the stall owner expanded his business."

It sounded like a good story of a self-made man. Dryden wondered why his family didn't talk about it more.

He didn't need to wonder for long. As Meiden continued, tinges of disgust crept into his voice. "That stall owner made a fortune off my grandfather's hard work. So you know what happened when the stall owner retired? He gave the business to his son, who couldn't manage to walk and talk at the same time. The idiot ignored everything my grandfather said and ran the business into the ground then he blamed my grandfather for it. He was fired and back on the streets with nothing to show for all the years he had worked except for a pittance in savings."

A sad ending, true, but Dryden couldn't see why his father was so upset. "Okay, so he got screwed over. That stuff happens in business. It usually happens to our competitors after we get our way."

"Please, Dryden," Meiden sniffed. "If my opponents go bankrupt, it's because I've outmaneuvered them. If an employee gets fired, it's because he can't do his job."

"Right, you're a real champion of the people."

"I thought that was your title."

Dryden fell silent, half in awe at how his father could manage to be condescending, amused and somewhat proud all in the same comeback.

"May I continue?" Meiden asked when the silence bordered on awkward.

Dryden motioned for him to go on. There was a point in this somewhere. He might learn something useful along the way.

"Anyway, after my grandfather had been cast out on his own, he went back to menial labor. But he kept the lessons he had learned from working at that stall and he passed them on to my father. The most important thing he taught him? Never let someone else be in control of your destiny. My father didn't bother begging stall owners for a job. He started his own. Costume jewelry. Cheap to make, easy to make look expensive."

"Wow," Dryden laughed. "So the Fassa fortune is based off of selling fake jewelry. Why does that seem so appropriate?"

"And that's the reason I never told you this story before," Meiden sighed. "Please pay attention to what I'm trying to tell you."

"I am," Dryden vowed. He made an old gesture used by priests to signify a pact with Jichia.

This did not inspire confidence in Meiden but he went on regardless. "It was the first time anyone in our family owned something of worth. And once my father had it, he was going to hold onto it no matter what. You have no idea what it means to be poor. You go out amongst the people and give them a handout and a smile and you feel like you've done this wonderful thing, but you don't know anything about those people's lives."

Meiden, Advocate of the Poor, was a stranger beast than Meiden, Concerned Father. He certainly had sharper claws.

"Hey, I do what I can," Dryden said angrily. "What the hell do you do?"

"The same as you. But I don't limit myself with sanctimony. If something needs to be done, I do it. My father needed to cunning, so he was. As am I. We'll never be poor again and a damn lot of people in Asturia can claim the same thing because of the business that we do."

"Oh, don't tell me you're in business to help other people."

"No, I'm not. But my business practices do have that result. I pay a fair wage because I firmly believe you get what you pay for. I benefit. My workers benefit. What's the problem?"

"The problem is you undercut other merchant's and then when they're out of business, you jack up the prices because there's no competition. The problem is you charge more for steel and lumber now when you know they're in such huge demand and you make things more expensive for everyone."

"It's a reconstruction period, Dryden. If you can't find a job with all this building going on, you're not looking. Everyone's got money. I'm not charging anything people can't afford. You do know how the market works, don't you?"

"In your view, yes. I've had plenty of that education."

"Apparently not enough." Meiden resumed pacing, much quicker this time and circling around both Dryden and his overloaded desk. He picked up different files and reports, glanced over them and set them down again. "You don't get it at all. We had to fight to get to where we are and if we ever stop fighting, we would lose all that we have gained. That's true of our family and it's true of Asturia."

How true it was seemed debatable to Dryden. More than one man had used his version of the truth to justify unsavory actions. While he would like to give his father some credit, Dryden felt his own truth was that he couldn't afford to. "So we're back to the summit then. You're worried that Asturia will somehow lose its status if we don't go after other countries."

"We're not 'going after' other countries. We're guiding them. Of course, you got your information from Princess Eries so I'll excuse the blatant bias against my stance."

Dryden froze, too new in his apparently already defunct career as a spy to know how to get out of this. He fell back on an oldie (but still goodie in the world of business) from his childhood, "I'm not sure I know what you're talking about."

"Oh? So you didn't just come from her quarters? You just took an astonishingly long time to reach my office while someone who looks exactly like you happened to be there instead? You might want to do something about your imposter, Dryden. He's so skilled he's also gotten a hold of a duplicate set of your clothes."

"Eries' quarters…?" Dryden stammered. "No, I was, uh…you see, Millerna's quarters are right down the hall from Eries and that's where I was going until I, uh, chickened out. And Eries, of course, spotted me and dragged me into her room for a lecture on how to treat her little sister. You know how bossy she is."

_Weak start but strong finish_, Dryden thought. He hoped strong equaled plausible.

"I'm thoroughly acquainted with that particular trait of hers," Meiden said. "But you expect me to believe you spent all this time discussing Princess Millerna?"

"Eries can be pretty talkative once she gets going, you know. Especially when she's in a lecturing mood." Dryden didn't know how much of this Meiden was buying. It would have helped if he had an idea of how Meiden knew about this in the first place. Dryden guessed the goon had a hand in it, but how far that hand reached made a big difference.

_Won't know until I ask. _He'd have to ask roughly, too, if he wanted shake out a good answer. "How'd you know where I was anyway? You have somebody stationed up on the third floor of the palace taking Princess Inventory?"

"Don't be ridiculous. My employee came back to give me his report and mentioned you had wanted to stop by your old office and that the Caeli would escort you. When he later noticed the Caeli wandering around alone, he took it upon himself to make sure you were all right."

"Sure, Dad. Say, you have any bridges on sale for cheap now? I feel like buying one."

"Fine, he followed a good distance behind you until the Caeli left and then he moved in to eavesdrop on you. Unfortunately, he had to leave when that Caeli became uncharacteristically conscientious about his duty and started doing rounds on the third floor."

The goon's reach wasn't that long after all. Dryden had considerable room to maneuver. "In other words, you have no idea what I was talking to Eries about, you're randomly accusing me of crap and hoping something sticks."

Meiden shrugged. "A simple, but surprisingly effective strategy. For example, you're having a rather strong reaction for someone who's been engaging in an innocent chat with his sister-in-law."

"I'm having the reaction of somebody's who's pissed that his father is treating him like some pawn and assuming the worst about him because it might give him a tiny grain of a political advantage. I told you I was talking to Eries about Millerna and I was. Millerna is the only reason I didn't make a run for it the second your thug left. Eries is her sister. She knows her better than just about anyone. Why wouldn't I try to get the inside information from her first? But according to you, I'm must be more interested in playing stupid political games, so Eries and I formed this super secret cabal and I'm serving as a spy!"

Righteous indignation could be a handy tool in selling in argument. It's only hang-up being that the other guy had to believe what you were saying. Of course, the best way to get someone to believe was to really work the indignation, creating an odd kind of circular logic that either strengthened itself with each loop or collapsed entirely under its own weight.

Dryden got up from his seat, calculating that stomping away angry was a good way to help his argument grow without getting too bulky.

He had his hand on the door when Meiden gave in. "Wait, son. I didn't bring you back here to argue. And it's not you I'm suspicious of, it's Princess Eries. I don't put it below her to turn a nice talk about her sister into an opportunity to politically undermine me. She knows how valuable you are."

"As do you, Old Man," Dryden countered.

"You'd think I'd have dibs," Meiden laughed and Dryden couldn't help but join him. "You see, I'm not so horrible after all."

"When you act like a father," Dryden conceded, "yeah. When you act like you have been acting for the past five minutes…"

"Son, I'm looking out for your future, for all our futures. I want you to understand that. I know you will, eventually. Even the princess will come around."

"Yeah, sure, whatever you say," Dryden said softly, the disbelief in his words belied by the thoughtfulness in his voice. He did leave now. There wasn't much more that could be said.

There was a lot to think about though. He'd agreed to help Eries and was still sure that was the right side to be on, but Meiden, bless him or damn him, had managed to worm his way into Dryden's conscience.

Family was most definitely weird like that.

He'd sleep on it, or try to. Millerna, Eries, his father and that summit weren't going anywhere. The whole mess would be waiting for him in the morning, along with a bunch of other messes created by the sudden reappearance of a Prince Regent.

He consoled himself with the thought that after being abducted, dragged back home, recruited as a spy and fighting with his father, tomorrow would have to present quite the spectacle to be worse than today.

* * *

Next up: Dirty Day. It's a double date for Eries and Allen and Sita and Alucier. No, that's not the dirty part. That's actually phase one of 'The Plan' (insert ominous music here) swinging into action with a silly little assassination attempt. No biggie. 


	19. Dirty Day

Intrigues of a Princess

XVIII: Dirty Day

In a surprising burst of productivity, the day's council session had the delegates hammering out the rest of the plan governing Zaibach's imports. There were still a few details here and there to fill in, but with the basics taken care of, it shouldn't take long. With that task accomplished ahead of schedule, the delegates left the Grand Hall in a good mood.

That wasn't the only reason for the high spirits though. Tomorrow would be an off day for the summit, giving the delegates a chance to recoup their energy by putting politics on hold. If that was what they wanted to do, that is. Eries and Marqesita were going out for a day of shopping in Palas' market district. While they were out there, it only made sense to drop by Allen's temporary home for the noon meal. And if Van Fanel, known to be Allen's good friend, happened to stop by at that very same time hoping to do some catching up with his pal, that would be a fortuitous coincidence.

Odds were that would be the extent of the gathering. Nuri had already informed Eries he had no intention of joining them. He'd claimed he couldn't find a plausible excuse to get away. Eries had questioned that but then he'd asked her for what reason would she think a man like him would be wandering around Palas' markets for. Marqesita had jokingly suggested 'souvenirs'. Eries hadn't come up with anything.

"Exactly," Nuri had said and there hadn't been any room to disagree.

Despite his absence, Eries had hopes for the meeting. She needed to see what information Dryden had gotten when he talked to Meiden, but as Dryden was more or less grounded at the palace for the time being, Eries wouldn't have any trouble getting a word in with him.

Her little cabal would finally be able to get moving.

She expressed none of this excitement while she gathered up her papers. In fact, to the outsider, she seemed almost dour, especially in comparison to Meiden, who bid each delegate a cherry 'good day' as they shuffled past Asturia's table on their way out.

"What do you plan on doing on your day off?" Meiden chirped at her once the last of the other delegates was gone.

The utter jollity in Meiden's voice made her want to cringe. "Nothing in particular," she lied. "I think Sita mentioned something about going into town, but we'll see."

"Ah, women and shopping. It's a good thing you have such a reliable guard to follow you about and carry your things."

Eries nodded as if that hadn't been the most insipid thing Meiden could have said.

"How has Schezar been working out for you?" Meiden continued. "I imagine the two of you have been doing a lot of catching up."

"We resumed our friendship well before you assigned him to be my guard."

"But nonetheless." There was that chirpiness again. "I'm sure you'd like to make up for lost time."

Eries' original response covered this statement too but repeating wouldn't make Meiden shut up. Maybe she could make him trip up instead. "What about you and your son? I'm sure Dryden's so thrilled to be back in your company, you two spent all night chatting and catching up."

"We talked," Meiden admitted, "probably not as long as you and he did, though. The two of you had a lot of ground to cover between this summit and your sister."

It figured he would use the same strategy. Eries wished she had talked to Dryden sooner than later, but she couldn't change that now. She had to trust that Dryden knew how to handle his father. "Oh, we just discussed Millerna. He's still so very besotted with her. I can't help but want to help him. Of course, I still have to take Millerna's feelings into consideration."

Meiden smiled and nodded but the chirpiness had noticeably faded. As much as she hadn't liked Dryden calling her on using Millerna as a bargaining chip against Meiden, Eries couldn't deny her sister was the biggest and best weapon available to her. And if she had no intention of actually using Millerna in the way she threatened, it didn't really matter, right?

_Yes, it does, _Eries' conscience said and it didn't want to hear any excuses about the greater good being served either. Having made enough compromises in the past few days, Eries tread toward the higher ground. "Ultimately though, it's between the two of them. The best, fairest thing to do would be to let them work it out on their own."

"Oh, yes, definitely," Meiden agreed. Unlike Eries however, there was no nagging, little voice urging him to actually mean what he said.

Eries left the table, thankful she'd have a full day away from it and Meiden. She joined Allen by his station at the door and half-ordered, half-begged him to take her out of here.

"You weren't enjoying your conversation with Meiden?" Allen teased.

"That's not a question that ever needs to be asked. You can assume the answer will always be 'no'."

"What if he were telling you he was resigning from the council and the summit?"

"Hmm," Eries considered. "Then I would wish that he had had the good sense to write a nice letter of resignation."

They walked the rest of the way to her quarters talking only occasionally about the weather and general palace life. A good guard shouldn't be too friendly with his charge.

Once safely in her room, the talk became more specific.

"Any plans for this evening?" Eries asked in a tone she hoped he would find leading.

"I know I won't be going to any plays with Celena. I wouldn't mind finding other company to take with me though."

Eries knew there was a story involved in his first statement. But then, there could also be a story in the second if she wanted it. "A night at the theater does sound inviting."

"What makes you think I would invite you?"

He answered his own question by putting his hands around her waist and pulling her so closely to him, Eries had little choice but to look up into his eyes.

It was a favorable position to be in, all things considered. It was made a little bit nicer by Eries draping her arms over his shoulders.

"How about I send word down to the kitchens to prepare a nice meal for two in my quarters?"

"You don't think anyone will be suspicious?"

"Of what? There's a reason why I have a dining area in my quarters and it wouldn't be the first time you've eaten in here."

"True…"

"You're not planning on doing anything untoward that would arouse suspicion, are you?"

He pulled Eries in even closer. "That depends. Would you consider hoping the same as planning?"

"Allen!" Eries blushed a furious shade of pink. For once, she enjoyed the sensation.

0-0-0-0

Eries supposed it was a good thing she and Allen would have the cover of company while they attended the play. All the same though, she sort of wished Marqesita hadn't dropped by while they were eating dinner. She sort of wished she'd been able to come up with a good excuse as to why Marqesita couldn't join them on their night out.

She wished she could sort of wish both these things without feeling horribly guilty. Marqesita had a lot to deal with. She didn't need an unsupportive friend added to the mix.

Besides, she had waited years to be where she was with Allen. One more night was nothing.

Eries' guilt was greatly assuaged by the bright mood Marqesita slipped into once the three of them were out of the palace and on their way to the theater district. She had to give Allen credit for that. He had suggested since they had so much time before the play started, why couldn't they take the scenic route – a route that just so happened to wind around Tuvello's and contained a scene of the apartment above that tavern.

They couldn't tell from the street if anyone was home, so Allen led the two princesses up the narrow staircase in the back. Knocking didn't result in an opened door, so Allen had to improvise and began searching for the spare key hidden on the landing. Since the only thing on the landing was a parched-looking plant, it didn't take him long to deduce the key was stuck to the bottom of its pot.

"Not that I want to criticize Alucier," Marqesita said, "but is anyone else a little alarmed that the head of security for the summit leaves the key to his home in a place that might as well have a 'key here!' sign and an arrow on it for anyone to find?"

It did seem to be an uncharacteristic case of carelessness on Alucier's part so it wasn't surprising when Allen revealed it was Revius' fault. "Alucier doesn't even know about the key. Revius is the one who 'hid' it. His thinking is that everyone knows two Caeli live here so no one would be stupid enough to try to rob the place."

Marqesita could see the logic behind that, or at least acknowledge that logic wasn't entirely unacquainted with the concept. Still, logic could use some introductions. "Then why bother locking the door at all?"

"Because his thinking isn't the same as Alucier's thinking," Allen stated the obvious. "And Alucier's the one with his name on the lease."

Once in the apartment, Marqesita wanted the full tour. It didn't take long. Allen pointed ahead and showed her the sitting area. He pointed to his left to show her the kitchen and eating area. To the left and back was one of the bedrooms and to the right were the other two bedrooms and the bath.

"Which one's Alucier's?" Marqesita asked for no particular reason.

Allen pointed right then moved his arm forward. "It's not the biggest room, but it is the furthest one away from Revius' and he figured that counted for more than space when trying to get a good night's sleep."

With the tour over, there was nothing else to do but leave. Marqesita suggested waiting around a little while longer. She didn't want to arrive unfashionably early to the play.

Eries smirked, ready to ask if there was perhaps an ulterior motive but Allen gallantly stepped in and agreed with Marqesita that it simply wouldn't do for two princesses to be left sitting in their seats waiting for the play to start.

"Princesses shouldn't be kept waiting," he said, winking at Eries to acknowledge this impromptu double date was forcing her do to that very thing.

"But a graceful princess knows to accept the situation before her," she replied. "Though it does help if she knows there will be amendments made later to repay her patience."

Marqesita wandered away during the exchange. She had an idea what Eries and Allen were talking about but thought it best to not let them know she knew. Eries had been a good friend to her, listening to her secrets without judgment and keeping them private.

She took the hallway to the right intending to find the bath. It never hurt for a lady to freshen up before a night out. As she approached the door, she noticed a light coming from underneath it. It could hurt to leave a lamp lit when no one was home.

And while it wasn't necessarily hurtful for a man to be caught sleeping in a tub by a princess from a foreign land, it was deeply embarrassing to Alucier.

He lunged for the towel draped over the edge of the tub. "Sita! What are you doing here?"

"Enjoying the view," she answered. She did have the decency to look aside. "I love how you've decorated the place."

"Very funny." He rose from the water slowly to make sure there was adequate towel coverage where there absolutely had to be towel coverage. "Is there another reason why you broke into my apartment over than to admirer the décor?"

"When I heard you were up here bathing, I couldn't help myself. I threw a rock through a window and crawled right in."

Apparently, being soaking wet, naked and in a state of mild shock did not make Alucier conducive to appreciation of the high art of sarcasm, no matter how much he practiced it while dry and clothed. He glared (or rather, squinted harshly as his glasses were still on top of his pile of clothes on the floor) at Marqesita until she had to confess.

Nothing he did would ever get her to stop enjoying herself though. "Eries, Allen and I stopped by to see if you wanted to join us for a play tonight. I have to admit, whatever they perform, it's not going to be as good as the show here."

"And you've never heard of knocking?"

"You're the one who can't hear any knocking. Allen knocked several times but you were busy with your nap…"

"I was tired. I've a lot of work to do with the summit and I took a hot bath to relax a little and I must have fallen asleep. That still doesn't explain how you got in. I know I locked the door because I didn't want anyone to bother me."

Figuring now would be a good time to provide Alucier with another target, Marqesita sold Revius out. "Your dear roommate keeps a key under the plant outside."

"I told him to stop doing that. He promised me that he had stopped doing that," Alucier muttered to himself. Then, after a brief pause, "I guess it's my fault for believing him."

"You're tired." Marqesita was completely conciliatory, handing Alucier another, larger towel and turning around to face the door while he covered himself with it. "You've been working so hard and under so much stress. You really could use a night off."

He thought about it for a moment and sighed. "What's the play?"

"I don't know. I never even asked Eries." She offered to find out and finally left him alone in the bath so he could get dressed without having to coordinate the switching out of towels for his clothes.

Awake, he could hear the goings-on of the trio in the apartment perfectly.

He winced as Marqesita announced, loudly and with glee, "Guess who I saw!"

0-0-0-0

The play wasn't the thing and the foursome left before the second act started. By then, the moons had fully risen and a warm breeze had picked up, making for a pleasant walk back to the palace as they discussed the play.

"The acting was dreadful," Alucier insisted while Marqesita both disagreed and agreed.

"That's what made it so wonderful. With a horrible script like that, the only way to do it justice is to act it out poorly."

"Then more justice was done on that stage tonight than in every courthouse in Asturia since the legal system came into being."

"Oh come on, didn't you find it hysterical how the lead actress screeched out her boyfriend's name when she found him injured at the end of Act One?"

"It wasn't supposed to be a comedy."

"Bah, authorial intent is highly overrated." Marqesita turned to Allen and Eries, who were walking well behind her and Alucier to avoid having to play theater critics. "What did you two think?"

"Eries is the one who suggested we leave," Alucier said. "Doesn't that tell you something?"

"Oh, you've had your say. I'm asking Eries now." She implored for a review again, "You didn't find it funny at all?"

"The word 'funny' has several different definitions," Eries said after careful consideration. "The definition I would use probably doesn't match the one you are using."

Marqesita was steadfast. "You have no taste. What about you, Allen?"

It was against Allen's nature to speak too ill of women so he wouldn't criticize the lead actress so directly. "The direction was….unusual."

"That's code for 'It was awful'," Alucier helpfully translated.

"You Asturians are humorless."

"Much like that play." Giving the illusion of charity, he added, "I don't know. Maybe if I were in the right state of mind, I could find it amusing. Say, after I'd suffered a head injury or if I was drunk."

Marqesita rolled her eyes in disdain. "What kind of a boor would go to the theater drunk?"

In many cultures, there is a superstition if you mention a person, however vaguely, they will appear before you. Marqesita wasn't really a superstitious person but she did think the sudden exit of Tellot - on rather wobbly legs - from the tavern at the end of the street was a remarkable case of good timing. Or bad, depending on your perspective.

"There's your brother," Alucier teased. "Going to go over and say 'hello'?"

"Hmm, I could stay here and listen to you insult my sense of humor or leave and talk to my brother…" After approximately two seconds of deliberation, Marqesita concluded, "All right then, tell me I wouldn't know a good joke if it came up and hit me on the head."

Unfortunately for her, Tellot wasn't feeling as shy towards his family members. The moment he spotted her, he came lumbering over, a look of puzzlement a shade deeper than his usual expression across his face.

"Sita, what are you doing out here?" He surveyed the street, as if more Marqesitas might be lurking in the doorways or behind the post lights that lined the street.

"Coming back from a play," she answered slowly. What did it matter to him?

"Oh, so you're going back to the palace now…"

"Perhaps you could come along with us?" Allen ventured. Tellot's capacity to walk under his own power seemed to be fading fast and no decent man, let alone an honorable knight, would let him wander the streets unaccompanied. It was disconcerting to Allen that no one from Egzardia's security detail seemed to be sharing this sentiment.

Tellot, however, would have nothing of it. "The night's still young! Why would I want to go back to the palace when there are so many friendly bars here in Palas?"

"Because it'll be more comfortable to pass out there instead of the middle of the street," Alucier muttered.

Marqesita spoke much louder. She wanted Tellot to hear every word she said. She grabbed him by his shirt collar and pulled him in close just to make sure. "You will go back to the palace and stop making a drunken disgrace of Egzardia right now."

Normally, Tellot responded from threats from Marqesita, particularly ones given voice in that sharp whisper of hers that could cut through steel. Tonight though, he wasn't going to listen. "I'm a big boy, Sita. I go where I want to."

"And do what you damn well want too, I suppose. Meanwhile, our country is in a less than stable position and I wonder if even the gods know what Bennor is up to. But you're such a big boy you can take care of all of it while getting thoroughly soused in the process."

She shoved him back, anger pushing him further than the combination of her lithe frame and his bulky one suggested was possible. Behind her, Eries, Allen and Alucier exchanged awkward glances.

Tellot simply stared. "Sita, come on… You don't have to get so mad."

"Oh, please dear brother, tell me more about how I should feel. Maybe I should throw all my responsibilities to the wind like you and drink my way through the entire city of Palas. Who cares if Egzardia suffers? There's drink to be drunk, fun to be had! Maybe I can find a tavern with male servers so I can bombard them with crude come-ons while making a complete ass of myself!"

"Hey!" Tellot barked. "I'm doing more for Egzardia than you realize!"

"And what would that be? Drinking yourself into an early grave so there's no way you'll ever get the throne?" She was through with this discussion. Even if she hadn't been, a crowd was starting to form and Eries had been trying to signal to Marqesita to calm down the moment she had mentioned Egzardia's instability.

Tellot called after her, but Marqesita was already storming down the street. After a short delay to recover their senses, her companions followed after her, worried that something was really wrong.

Eries hadn't been the only person to catch the comment about Egzardia.

"Are you okay?" Alucier asked, grabbing Marqesita's hand to both comfort her and slow her down.

"I…no…not really," she sighed. "I shouldn't have blown up at him like that. All those people on the street probably think the Egzardian royalty are either drunkards or crazy women."

"You had a right to be angry," Allen said. "Royalty does have certain standards to adhere to…"

"And I'm sure they include not screaming at your sibling in the middle of the street for everyone to see." Marqesita clutched Alucier's hand tightly and brought it up in front of her, as if to study his hand. "I'll keep that in mind the next time I come across Tellot on one of his tavern sprees. Until then…can we forget about this and just go back to the palace?"

If only things could ever be that simple. "What did you mean," Alucier asked, "when you said Egzardia was in a 'less than stable position'? I thought your country was doing well after the war since none of the fighting took place there."

Alucier suddenly found his hand free.

"Oh, Egzardia's fine," Marqesita lied. "Back home, anyway…I was talking about our position at the summit. We bicker more amongst ourselves than with the other delegates."

"Not that I don't enjoy the distraction," Eries added helpfully. "But it does seem as if Egzardia isn't as united as it should be."

Few times had criticism been more appreciated. Marqesita could only give thanks by pretending to be defensive. "I know, I know. It's just so hard with Bennor acting as if he knows everything about everything and Tellot not actually knowing anything about anything."

"Wouldn't that work in your favor though?" Alucier asked. "I mean with all the in-fighting, couldn't you come off as the rational one everybody should listen to?"

"Did you not just see me screaming at my brother a few minutes ago?"

That was a flaw in the plan. "Well, yeah, but if you started acting rational…I mean more rational…"

Somehow things had quickly turned on Alucier. Fortunately, a good swordsman knew when to retreat. With Eries and Marqesita giving him the eye while Allen shook his head, now seemed like a perfect time. "I only meant that you could take the lead in your delegation pretty easily with your natural intelligence and gift of speaking, O Wise and Beautiful Princess."

"Oh," Marqesita purred, "if that's the case, tell me more."

That settled, the quartet were on their way again. All thoughts of Tellot and the secret of the king's death were left behind for awhile, unable to be forgotten but pliant enough to be set aside to give the ones that bore them peace for a night.

0-0-0-0

One would think that on the streets of Asturia, with their neat stones cut into perfect rows catching the sound of every footfall and the lampposts positioned on every corner sending light into every corner, it would be hard to follow someone without being noticed. And it was as long as the person being followed stuck to these streets in the more prosperous parts of town.

Unfortunately for Tellot e' Egzard, the nature of the taverns he liked to frequent meant they were located in less desirable environs.

He'd sobered up quite a bit since the yelling match with his sister. The full force of Marqesita's wrath always had been good at getting him in line; she was better at that even than their mother. He knew it shouldn't be like that. She was his little sister. He should be the one looking out for her.

Marqesita, however, never had let any man tell her what to do. The only exception had been their father. Who wouldn't have listened to him though? Despite having no biological connection to the man, Tellot had had the same relationship with him as his siblings had enjoyed. Perhaps he'd been indulged too much given the proclivities he'd developed, but he'd always been treated as an e' Egzard.

Until now. Until this whole mess over who would take over the crown had come up.

Things had been so much better when his father was still healthy. Marqesita wasn't so yelly. Bennor kept to his studies and didn't hang around waiting for the chance to make Tellot look stupid.

Tellot was smart enough to know the limits of his intellect and how they didn't include the ability to run a country on his own. He didn't see why he couldn't do it with help though. Wasn't that what the Parliament was for anyway?

Bennor didn't agree. But Bennor didn't agree with anything except his own opinion. Tell him the sky was blue and he'd try to argue it's actually orange. Marqesita didn't seem to think much of Parliament either but Tellot had never been sure how much of that had to do with the bad blood between her and Tavas' family. That didn't sit right with Tellot, the way they had treated her. Then again, a lot of this politics crap didn't sit right with him and not just because he had trouble following it.

And Marqesita wondered why he liked to drink.

He was done for the night though, en route back to the palace. It would turn out to be a rather circuitous route as the back alleys of Palas could be confusing to a native. To a partially drunk foreigner, they were utterly confounding. He found multiple dead ends, did long loops around the same few blocks without ever figuring out how that had happened – all without coming across any people.

That wouldn't do. A bustling town like Palas and no one around? Tellot pictured a crowd of visitors damned to forever wander the streets at night because they couldn't find anybody to ask directions.

He snickered to himself then broke out into a full belly laugh despite knowing it wasn't that funny. Maybe he was drunker than he thought. That wouldn't do either.

Eventually, he meandered near a main thoroughfare and had the sense to follow the light and sounds until he came out unto the heart of Palas. There were plenty of people here, milling about the night on their way homes or a late shift at work. They didn't pay much attention to Tellot. Tall, stocky men in the uniforms from a foreign land must not be much of an attraction here.

There was one person who watched Tellot's every step with a keen eye. He hung back, clinging to the walls of the closed shops along the street and staying as far from the range of the street lamps as he could. He too went unnoticed.

He trailed after Tellot for another two blocks before that changed. Tellot had looked back, swearing he had caught motion in the corner of his eye. He saw the man pursuing him, but didn't think there was anything out of place.

Tellot kept moving, heading towards thicker crowds. The streets were fairly well populated now, the tavern at the end of the street, Tuvello's, doing a large amount of nighttime business as per tradition.

Tellot spotted the tavern, but had no intention of entering. He stood in the middle of the street, looking around as if to get his bearings, when that motion in the corner of eye reappeared, getting larger and coming closer faster than he thought a person could move.

It disoriented him, causing him to bump into a man even larger than him. The man shoved Tellot back without sparing a glance at him and again he was off balance. He took a step forward, into the wrong direction, as he collided with the man he had seen earlier. Tellot felt something sharp and cold press against him. Then all he could feel was pain and agonizing heat where the knife had gone in just below his ribcage.

He locked eyes with the man for a brief second and saw the same shock within them – _something had gone wrong – _that Tellot felt burning through his entire body.

The man fled. A woman screamed. Tellot clutched his hand to his side, futilely trying to stop the flow of blood. He wasn't sure what happened next. There was a lot of shouting. People running away, people moving closer to get a good look. Tellot watched the exchange of legs going back and forth as he sank to the ground. Anything to distract him from the pain.

Then there were hands on him. A man, he assumed the same one who owned the hands, was barking out orders. The only one Tellot cared about was the call for a doctor.

The man told him not move. Tellot heard the rip of fabric and realized the man had torn off the sleeve of his own shirt to press against the wound.

_Pretty nice of him_, Tellot thought. He seemed nice in general, talking to Tellot in a soothing voice and telling him everything would be all right. He seemed familiar too and through the haze of pain Tellot eventually identified him as that Knight Caeli Marqesita liked so much.

He'd have to compliment his sister on her taste. The knight was assuring Tellot he'd have every chance to do just that later. He sounded so sincere Tellot wanted to thank him but all that came out was a weak mumble. He closed his eyes, trying to focus so he could speak clearly.

He opened them when he felt the pressure over his wound briefly then reassert itself. The doctor had arrived and had lifted the makeshift bandage to get a peak at what he was dealing with.

"You'll be fine," the doctor said. "The wound's not that deep."

Tellot liked the sound of that. Marqesita's knight chimed in that he'd seen those in much worse shape on the battlefield live to brag about their scars.

Tellot was musing on the potential effect a cool looking scar would have on women when he felt the thud of something heavy hitting the ground beside him. He rolled his head over on its side. The thud had been the body of the man who had stabbed him. Tellot saw blood soaking through the man's trousers where he'd been stabbed in the leg. He kept looking and upon seeing the gash across the man's throat, he suddenly felt much better about his own injury.

"What happened?" Marqesita's knight demanded. "I told you to bring him back alive so we could question him."

"I tried to," replied another knight. He was familiar as well, with blond hair running further down his back than most of the woman Tellot consorted with. Prettier too, if one was into that sort of thing, which Tellot most definitely was not, no matter how much blood he lost. Nope, not him.

"I tried to," Pretty to Some knight repeated. "I thought I could slow him down by getting his leg, but once he realized he was trapped, he pulled out a knife and cut his own throat."

_Damn, that's dedicated._

Marqesita's knight thought the same. "A professional then, someone who deliberately targeted Tellot and knew the consequences from his employers if he got caught."

Tellot wouldn't want to work for those people. Pretty to Some knight just wanted to know who they were and what they were trying to accomplish. "Why Tellot? If someone's trying to weaken the Egzardian delegation, he hardly seems to be the most obvious choice."

Tellot was pretty sure there was an insult in there somewhere. Marqesita's knight better feel some solidarity with the Egzardian royal family

"Well, he is the oldest…"

_That's not much of a defense._

It didn't get any better. "Which doesn't mean a whole lot unless somebody's trying to affect succession," Marqesita's knight concluded.

"But why go after Tellot now? Succession would only become an issue once Egzardia's king has died."

_Shows what you know, Pretty Boy._

"Sita did say her father was in bad shape when she first came here. She hasn't said much about it since, but I figured with the stress of the summit and all, she just wasn't eager to bring it up. Has Eries said anything to you?"

Pretty shook his head. "No, not a word. But it's not exactly our business."

Pretty scored some points for that. Then he had to go and take them all away while sinking into negative points by suggesting that maybe that ought to change.

Marqesita's knight thought so too but he was willing to wait. "We need to make sure Tellot will be okay first. Then I have to find someway to tell Sita. She was so upset with him earlier, I can't imagine how she's going to react when she finds out somebody tried to kill him."

Tellot wanted to hear the rest of the conversation but at this point, it was getting harder to really listen. He wanted to sleep. He needed to sleep. It was only the tight waves of pain that pulsed through his body that was stopping him. He wasn't sure how long even that would keep him awake.

"Tired…" he mumbled to the doctor.

The elderly man smiled down at him. "Don't worry. You'll be getting a lot of rest while you recuperate. Let's just finish closing this wound and then we can get you into a nice, warm bed."

That sounded real good to Tellot right now. A cozy bed, a long nap and lots of those pretty palace handmaidens to take care of him when he woke up. He could take a break from the politics that were giving him a headache. Sita might even apologize to him for being so mean. Bennor might…Tellot didn't know what Bennor might do. He wasn't counting on caring what happened to be a response.

Tellot was vaguely aware of a blanket, or some kind of fabric, being slipped underneath him. He was aloft a few seconds later, the doctor standing up and promising to stay right beside him.

The two knights were watching him intently. Pretty asked the doctor how it looked and upon hearing there was no need to worry, looked so relieved Tellot felt bad for calling him a Pretty Boy.

_Man, Asturia's knights are so much better than those military escorts we get, _Tellot thought. _They have neater uniforms too._

As Tellot was carried away, he realized might not get to see anymore of the tournament the knights were putting on. That was no fun. Not excruciating knife wound no fun, but he had been enjoying the fights. He was soon lost in thoughts of having some of those handmaidens act out the best fights for him to make up for it.

The doctor rustled through his bag, seeing if he had medicine that would take care of Tellot's pain inside. He hadn't had any time to do anything but grab the bag and run after this woman, a waitress from the bar down the street judging from her attire, had banged on the door and demanded he come with her.

It didn't matter. The doctor looked at his patient, ready to tell him he'd have something for him when they reached his clinic but by then, Tellot was already asleep – a wide grin inexplicably plastered across his face.

0-0-0-0

While her brother peacefully slumbered, Marqesita furiously paced her quarters, ordering Alucier and Allen to tell her what happened yet again. Maybe hearing it for the fifth time would allow her to make some sense of it.

They weren't able to offer anything new. Tellot had been attacked outside of Tuvello's. Alucier had convinced Allen to come over to the bar for a drink before heading home after seeing the princesses back to the palace. This detour just so happened to allow them to be at the right place at the right time.

Close to right, at any rate. Close, however, wasn't good enough for Alucier. The attack never should have happened in the first place. He should know. He was the man responsible.

He should have insisted on placing a security detail on Tellot no matter how many times the man had refused it. 'It's such a pain, all those people around, keeps the women from getting close' was not a valid excuse. 'I got some guys who can do it anyway' was not a valid excuse. Nothing was a valid excuse. At the very minimum, Alucier should have had someone shadowing Tellot.

He knew he was to blame, no matter how many times Eries and Allen told him otherwise. All the way back to palace, Allen had gone on and on about Egzardia demanding they handle their own security. It took Eries approximately a split second after the first telling of the story to come up with the same excuse. Alucier had managed to shut Allen up by asking him if he would ever let Eries out of his sight even if she ordered him to do it. Eries had a hundred reasons why that situation wasn't remotely the same and wouldn't be satisfied until she'd told him every last one.

At least she relayed these reasons to him quietly, not wanting to upset Marqesita. Technically, she'd have to travel back in time to truly accomplish that but every bit helped.

Or it didn't hurt things more than they had already been hurt. Marqesita wasn't about to be soothed by anything or anyone. She could be quite easily enraged further though, a fact that was proved when Bennor finally saw fit to emerge from his quarters out into the sitting room shared by the Egzardian delegation to see what all the fuss was.

"Is something wrong?" he asked with disinterest, as if he expected to find out nothing more exciting than that Marqesita had misplaced a shoe and the entire palace was up in arms to find it.

"Is something wrong?" Marqesita repeated. She walked up close to Bennor and practically screamed it again in his face.

"I take that as a 'yes' then," he said. He backed away from his sister, curious now, but wanting to get his information from someone he deemed sane. "If I may ask, Princess Eries, what is the problem?"

A barely intelligible sneer came from Marqesita. Eries waited until she was sure no more ranting was forthcoming and explained the situation to Bennor.

"You must be joking." Bennor stared at Eries, thinking perhaps his assessment of her sanity had been off but watching how solemnly the knights stood while Marqesita continued to seethe and he retracted his statement. "No, you're serious. But who…why would anyone wish to kill Tellot? He's hardly a presence at the summit."

"We were wondering that ourselves," Alucier said. "He's not the logical target if someone's trying to weaken the Egzardian delegation. He doesn't seem like much of a logical target either if someone's trying to intimidate delegates as a whole."

"Well, you said he was outside a tavern," Bennor concluded with the all the passion someone would put into announcing the answer to a math problem. "Perhaps the attacker saw a rich, easy mark and tried to rob him."

It was plausible aside from one major detail. "I don't think a common robber would kill himself to avoid capture," Alucier said.

Bennor nodded, this new information no more shocking than an extra variable added to the math problem. "That does seem overly dramatic."

Bennor hadn't seen dramatics yet. The ones imminent, courtesy of Marqesita, were loud and numerous.

"Overly dramatic? Our brother nearly gets killed and that's all you can say!"

"Princess Eries said he was fine. There was a doctor on the scene and no real damage done."

"No damage except for a knife to the gut. How about I ask Alucier if I can borrow his sword so I can show you how it feels? I'll just use the tip."

On the off chance she was serious, both Allen and Alucier inched over to stand behind Eries – far out of Marqesita's reach. Bennor, foolishly, moved closer to her.

"What is your problem? Don't try to tell me after all these years of likening him to a piece of wood you're suddenly overcome with concern for your big brother. It's Tellot. I'm shocked the attacker was able to find a place to stick a knife in with all that flab."

"That's not funny, Bennor…"

"Please, you would have laughed yesterday if I'd said it then."

Her hand twitched, but Marqesita forced herself to keep it at her side. The words that escaped her mouth in a low hiss struck harder than a palm ever could. "Unlike you, I actually care when members of my family almost die. But you're so damned cold, you wouldn't care even if he had died. You'd hole up in your room, 'studying reports' while scratching out an item on your list of obstacles to the throne."

Marqesita was treading dangerously close to divulging too much. She didn't care at this point. She'd had suspicions from the moment Alucier had told her about Tellot and she would be damned if she wasn't going to air them. She trusted all of the people in this room – all of them, that is, except Bennor.

"How dare you say that about me," Bennor barked back. "I'm not worried about Tellot because there's nothing to be worried about. He'll be up and around and you'll be insulting him before this summit's over. Don't you dare imply I don't care about my family!"

"Oh, I could tell how much you cared when you just shrugged and went back to your stupid reports when that messenger came–"

"What else was I supposed to do? Wail and cry and flail about, lamenting how I could never go on? Yes, you're right, Sita. I should have made a spectacle of myself as you're making one now. I should have compromised the future of our country just so you could be satisfied that I cared enough."

Under the ample cover provided by the screaming match, Alucier whispered to Eries, "Should we be hearing this? And are we hearing what I think we're hearing?"

"What would that be?" It was hard to convey nonchalance through a whisper and Eries didn't even come close.

Even Allen picked up on it. "You know something. You're not surprised at all they're hinting around that something's happened to Egzardia's king."

A confidence was a confidence and Eries was not going to break Marqesita's even if it was coming ever closer to being obsolete. "We can't be certain what they're talking about, Allen. He could have had a set back, nothing more."

"Or something a whole lot more," Alucier said. "If the king is dead, it would go a long way to explaining Tellot's assassination attempt."

"You're making an awfully large assumption…"

Neither Alucier nor Allen were listening to Eries. The motive for the attack had been nagging at them since it happened and this new information could help them put everything into place.

"Don't you think you should save this speculation for later?" Eries tried. She was drowned out by the still yelling and getting even louder Bennor and Marqesita and Alucier and Allen were too deep in their quiet speculating to pay any attention to her.

"Your first instinct was that this had something to do with the succession."

"Yeah, I know," Alucier muttered, "but something's still not right. When Sita first mentioned there was a problem with the succession, she told us there was a good chance that Tellot was out of the running anyway. There's no need to kill him…"

"What if circumstances have changed and that chance disappeared?"

"A prince can't stop being illegitimate, Allen, so I doubt that's the case."

Too late, Alucier realized the first part could apply to a prince other than Tellot. He wasn't sure how to continue when Eries stepped in to make sure he didn't.

"I know the two of you feel a need to investigate this but I don't think you'll get the answers you want gossiping."

This was true. Alucier couldn't rely on answers he'd provided himself. If he wanted to know who was behind the attack on Tellot, he needed to ask those who knew for a fact what he could only guess.

This meant questioning Marqesita. It meant questioning Bennor. It meant wading in between the two and getting them to stop screaming at each other and talking to him instead.

Alucier thought he stood a better chance of the ghost of Egzardia's king showing up to confirm he was dead and then mentioning how much he liked to haunt the area in front of Tuvello's despite never having ever been there while alive. And he saw the whole thing. And he was able to catch up with the ghost of the would-be assassin. And, boy, was that guy talkative for a spirit with a cut throat.

He vaguely remembered seeing a play that had a similar plot device but he couldn't recall either the title or what had happened in the end. Knowing the ending wouldn't have helped, really, but it would have given him something to think about for a few more seconds. Instead, he cleared and throat and gave it his best shot.

"Sita, Prince Bennor, I know what happened was deeply upsetting to the both of you, but I'm going to need your cooperation in determining why it happened. We need to know who did this."

This did manage to silence them except for the bitter chuckle Marqesita emitted at the notion that Bennor had been deeply upset.

Bennor glared at her but didn't hold it against Alucier. "Of course finding the guilty party is the priority."

"No, not exactly. My priority is ensuring that there are no additional attempts on Tellot, either of you or any of the delegates at the summit. But finding the guilty party is the best way to do this."

Bennor thought Alucier was quibbling over semantics, but he wasn't going to do the same. "Naturally, we'll help in whatever way we can. Won't we, Sita?"

"I'm sure you'll be a big help," she replied. There was no accompanying eye roll in the physical sense, but everyone in the room saw one nonetheless.

A peace offering, even one offered wrapped in a tiny bit of smugness, was still a peace offering and Bennor didn't appreciate having his rejected. "What do you think I'm going to do? Sabotage the investigation just to spite you? Or maybe you think I had something to do with it and I'd be covering my tracks?"

If his last statement was meant to shame Marqesita into realizing how harsh she was being, it failed spectacularly. She crossed her arms and looked directly at her little brother. "The thought had crossed my mind."

"Are you insane?" Bennor hissed with disgust. "Why am I even asking? Of course you're insane if you'd believe such a thing."

"Really, dear brother? The only logical motive for attacking Tellot would to be to affect the succession. Now who in this room would stand to gain from that? Oh, who could it be…?"

"I wouldn't ask that question if I were you. I already have means to remove Tellot from the royal line. I certainly don't need to kill him. I have your number too. So really, the only person in this room who needs to use violence to clear up her succession problems is you."

Marqesita did not like having the accusation flung back at her. She did not like it at all. But she was too in shock to lash out at Bennor. She could only gape at him in rage.

"Doesn't feel so good to be falsely accused, does it, Sita?" Bennor asked, grinding a dash of salt into the wound. "Assuming it is a _false_ accusation."

"You little-"

"That's enough!" The siblings turned at the shout. On the rare occasions when Eries raised her voice, it was seldom a large increase. At the moment though, she wasn't feeling shy about getting loud. It was a sacrifice she had to make to ensure others wouldn't become so loud their words would escape this room.

"I suggest we all calm down," Eries continued, "and talk about this rationally. That means foregoing the wild accusations." Curiously, she chose to direct this admonition at Bennor while sparing Marqesita.

The bias didn't go undetected. Bennor shrugged and sighed. "Why should have I expected my sister's friend to even look at my side? And," he added, pointing to Alucier. "Since my sister's boyfriend is the one running this investigation, I suppose I can expect to see myself high on the list of suspects because Sita told him to put me there. How convenient for her."

"I believe Princess Eries cautioned us against making wild accusations." A tinge of a threat crept into Alucier's voice. "I will run this investigation according to the code of Asturian law and my honor as a knight. I will name suspects on the basis of the evidence, regardless of their rank or my personal relationship to them. And I will treat all everyone I question with the same accord. Unless, of course, I find someone to be uncooperative. Then I'll have to wonder what his problem is."

"Or what her problem is," Bennor said to himself. He wasn't interested in a confrontation with a knight or anyone else for that matter. The events of tonight would have to be weighed and evaluated. Bickering just wasted time.

"Do as you must," he told Alucier and returned to his room. Marqesita watched him until the door closed, then kept watching the door with such concentration that one might almost believe she could see through it.

"He's a charmer," Alucier pronounced.

No one volunteered to play Devil's Advocate. Everyone one left in the room was firmly on Marqesita's side and quick to defend her.

"It didn't take him long to accuse his own sister," Allen said. "He can't really think she had something to do with it."

Marqesita wouldn't put it past him. "Who knows what Bennor thinks?"

"Maybe," Alucier theorized, "he thinks if he pins this attack on you then he can clear you off his path to the throne."

Marqesita and Eries exchanged glances. Neither of the men knew anything about Tavas but neither of the women could shake the feeling that Alucier might be onto something.

Allen certainly was behind the idea. "Attempted fratricide…Egzardia's parliament and people wouldn't be able to ignore such an offense."

"Who says he was aiming for just 'attempted'?"

That was one step too far. "No, Alucier, I know what I said, but…" Marqesita stammered. "But I was angry. Bennor's a schemer, yes, but a murderer? We both have our share of problems with Tellot, but for him to actually kill try to kill him? He wouldn't…he couldn't…"

"How well do you really know him?" Eries asked. "You told me he was away at a military school until recently. Can you really say what he learned there?"

"He didn't learn how to kill his own brother and frame his own sister! I don't know about Asturian schools but the standards for we Egzardians are a little bit higher than that!"

She waited for everyone to back her up. She needed them to. As much as she wanted to be sure about Bennor, she was having trouble truly feeling it. An assassination followed by a framing would neatly solve all of Bennor's problems. Especially since he could allow the 'evidence' to speak for itself. He needed Marqesita's testimony to back up his claims of Tellot's illegitimacy. Without it, he was simply dragging their mother's name through the muck. Bennor was in a similar situation with exposing the Tavas cover up, only it would be their father being portrayed badly. Plus, it would be his word against hers. The only other person alive who knew the truth was Tellot. He wasn't likely to skip into court for the brother who had just outed him for a bastard and cost him the crown.

Her attendance had been brief, but Marqesita had sat in the classroom of an Egzardian military school. She knew what they taught above all else: strategy. And she knew a good strategy always had a back up plan.

None of her friends would say it. She could barely say it herself. "It's possible…isn't it? Bennor really did…I mean there's a chance he could have…"

Alucier placed his hands over his shoulder and vowed to her, "I will find out who did this. And I will not let them hurt you."

For all the brazen flirting and stolen touches here and there, when Marqesita embraced Alucier, it was the first time she had ever been in his arms. She rested her head against his chest and breathed out words of gratitude, knowing if there was one thing she could believe in, it was him.

0-0-0-0

The hallways leading from the guest quarters to the kitchens didn't get much use after dark. In the morning, they'd be bustling with handmaidens eager to deliver meals to the hungry delegates, but for now, it was assumed everyone was full for the night and on their way to bed. It wasn't unheard of for someone to get a craving and send one of his staff down to fetch a treat. It wasn't all that common either.

The lack of traffic, therefore, made it a perfect place for two men with business to transact that would rather keep that business private to meet. Two such men fitting that description arrived in the hallways some ten minutes apart from each other, though by the time they rounded the corner of the hallway in front of the kitchens, they were walking apace.

There was normally a third man in their party, but understandably, the Egzardian would have had trouble getting away to join them on their walk.

"You heard the news?" the one from Cesario asked conversationally.

The Basramian bristled at his companion's blithe tone. Of course he had heard the news. Everyone in the damned palace from kings to scullery maids had heard the news.

And they had been the ones to create it.

'Create' might have been giving them too much credit. 'Set in motion' was more apt considering it hadn't gone off as it was supposed to. The assassin's dagger was never meant to hit home. The attempt was never to be anything more than a scare. They didn't need Tellot dead or even injured. They just needed everyone to think that someone else wanted Tellot dead or injured.

The Basramian was very clear in his disappointment.

The Cesarian was equally clear that he did not care. "It was a minor wound. He'll live, uncomfortably for the next few days, but he'll live. This actually works to our advantage. By actually stabbing the big fool, our assassin has created an even bigger threat for our enemies to fret over."

"But no one was supposed to be hurt! This man of yours was supposed to be the best in his field. If he screwed up, how does that bode for the second phase of our plan when we will be forced to use the second best?"

The Cesarian shushed him. A whisper could carry in an empty hallway. Shrill sputterings would go all the way down the hallway and up a few floors.

Besides, the Basramian was worrying about nothing.

"It was a minor misstep. Serendipitous or not, it won't be repeated."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because the next target isn't going to be an oaf like Tellot. Our man probably did his job perfectly but the big fool ruined everything by stumbling onto the blade."

"I'm sure Prince Tellot would appreciate your sympathy."

The Cesarian frowned. His partner really was seeing things in the worst possible light. Honestly, he would be happier handling things on his own, especially now that the Basramian was showing signs of having a weak stomach, but that wasn't possible anymore. Too many other people knew too much. He couldn't change that without planning additional 'accidents'.

And his was a tight schedule with no room to fit in extra meetings in secluded places.

He'd have to suck it up and reassure the Basramian in his own special way. "For the last time, he'll live. Are you really that squeamish over a bit of lost blood? Sacrifices have to be made. We are lucky a small wound and a dead assassin are all that comprise our offering."

"True, but…"

"But what? Don't tell me you're mourning the loss of an assassin. He knew the risks of the job when he took it. He knew the consequences of failure. Truly professional he was, cutting his own throat. I'll have to give a little extra gold to his family."

"So charitable," the Basramian spat. "Maybe you should ask them if he had a son or brother in the trade as well."

"Hmm, maybe I will at that." At the Basramian's scowl, the Cesarian could only laugh. "The man did us a favor. Now we know the only thing he'll say is exactly what we wanted him to say."

"You're sure the authorities will be able to find the evidence we prepared?"

"We made the trail clear enough. They'll rush down it and eagerly grab the treasure at the end."

"I wish I could have your confidence."

"So do I," the Cesarian said dryly. "But you have nothing to worry about. The documents have been forged, the key 'witnesses' have been bribed. A picture clear as day is going to emerge very quickly…

…and what I grand portrait of Meiden Fassa it will be."

* * *

Author's Notes: I can just picture how worried about Meiden you all are. He's such a sweetheart.

Anyway, after a long stretch of politics and just itty bits of romance, we shall reverse course for the next chapter.

Next Up: Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of. Not that Eries wants to get out of this moment, mind you. With the palace on alert, she has no choice but to spend some quality time with her guard.


	20. Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of

Intrigues of a Princess

XVIV: Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of

So much for her fun holiday of shopping and political conspiracies. Following the attack on Tellot, security clamped down hard. Each delegation had been previously allowed to handle their own security concerns. This had changed. Alucier had implemented a new rule: each delegate was going to receive a private Asturian escort whether they liked it or not.

'Not' seemed to be the most popular vote. Reasons varied. Van Fanel didn't think he needed one – a point Alucier would normally concede but if he made an exception for him, he'd have to start making exceptions for everyone. General Adelphus was of the opinion that if anyone wanted to assassinate him, they would have done it already. Alucier could see where he was coming from too, but had to turn him down for the same reason Van Fanel was now being followed around by Seclas. The Freidian delegation, or more specifically, Nuri, bristled at the idea that they would need foreigners to safeguard them. Alucier received a long lecture on the amount of training monks went through. He didn't know which was more annoying: that Nuri believed Freidian monks trained harder than Asturian knights or that, unless he was deeply exaggerating, Nuri was right.

Being right and well-trained however, did not stop Nuri from receiving a new Asturian friend. Alucier handpicked Sedgewick for the task.

The Caeli tournament had been suspended, of course. The would-be Caeli were needed to fill in the gaps as palace security in general had increased. Not only were delegates getting a shadow they knew about, there were going to be countless others inconspicuously manning the hallways and grounds of the palace wherever they went.

That was the objection of the Basramian delegation. It was one thing to have a single guard keep an eye on them, but a whole pack of them watching every move? It felt more as if they were being treated as criminals to be monitored ceaselessly rather than the respectable dignitaries they were.

At least the Cesarian delegates were happy. They even thanked Alucier for his diligence and said they would offer their prayers so that horrible incident with Tellot would not be repeated. Alucier felt guilty saddling them with Fortanen, but with all the other Caeli and the best prospects already placed, he didn't have much choice.

It did sort of work out for Alucier. He had the least contact with the Cesarians as they kept mostly to themselves in their quarters. This in turn meant Alucier wouldn't have much contact with his competition for the commander post. With such a horrible slip up on his record, Alucier didn't feel up to indulging any friendly rivalries and Fortanen was never in the mood to indulge in anything friendly.

"Like that jerk would have done a better job," Revius insisted, trying to cheer Alucier up as the two, along with Allen, sat around Eries' breakfast table. He didn't know why he was being so nice. The assignment Alucier had handed him was Princess Millerna and Dryden. Aside from Her Pinkness not exactly being his favorite princess, there was the slight logistical problem of having to simultaneously guard two people who didn't actually want to hang around each other for any length of time.

Eries wasn't as nearly as dissatisfied with Revius' task but she kept that to herself.

To Alucier, she offered the same support as Revius, only with nicer wording. "I would have to agree. With Egzardia being so insistent on providing its own security, there was no way you could have know they wouldn't be guarding Tellot at a crucial moment."

"Except," Alucier quickly pointed out, "we saw Tellot wandering around drunk by himself a few hours before the attack. I knew he didn't have a guard detail and I didn't do anything to provide one."

"Yeah, but given how pissy everyone's being about getting one of our guard details _after _Tellot got pin cushioned, do you really think anybody would have signed up for one before?"

"Having adequate protection shouldn't be a choice, Revius," Alucier countered. "I should have put somebody on him regardless of how much he would have complained."

Eries thought it would have been a moot point. "A knight isn't going to have much luck forcing royalty to do something they do not wish to do."

"If I recall correctly, you weren't keen on getting your own private guard and look how that turned out."

"That's hardly a fair comparison," she argued. "My father, who is a higher ranking royal than I, is the one who assigned you. And we are both Asturian. The title of Caeli doesn't hold as much meaning in a foreign land."

"Still good for impressing the local women," Revius noted. This was not considered helpful by his companions who glared at him until he shrugged and went back to shoveling down his breakfast. If they didn't appreciate his efforts, he had his own problems to consider, mostly the eternal puzzle of how to stick a girly princess and a weird merchant in the same room without it resulting in him getting a headache.

With Revius now silent, Allen picked up his slack. "No one is infallible, Alucier. And we did try to talk Tellot into coming back to the palace with us. If he had come…"

"But he didn't…"

"But if he had done as you told him, the whole incident could have been avoided."

Sensing a swing in momentum, Eries jumped back in. "According to Marqesita, Tellot has been going from tavern to tavern almost since he arrived here. The Egzardian guards clearly didn't see this as an issue. Why would they have? The crime rate in that area of Palas is very low and Tellot doesn't present himself as much of a political target."

He was outnumbered and no matter how much Alucier wanted to sulk in failure, his friends weren't going to let him. Besides, when Allen Schezar is telling you that you're needlessly brooding, it's time to get over yourself.

"Okay, okay, I get it. I'm a great knight and a great head of security for the summit. No one could have foreseen the stabbing of the delegate. Blah, blah, blah."

"That's the spirit!" Revius said through a mouth full of bread.

It came out more as 'tha thuh spirt' but Alucier chose to be grateful for the sentiment. The task at hand now was to live up to the good faith. "What's done is done," he pronounced. "I just need to make sure it isn't done again. To that end, I need to get out of here and make sure everyone is on their assignments."

He had no doubt he could count on Allen to keep a good eye on Eries. Alucier was sure he could handle the extra load of Marqesita as well. He would have liked to have given himself that assignment but he was going to be busy coordinating everybody else. Trusting her to Allen was the next best thing.

He was second guessing the decision to match up Revius with Millerna and Dryden. The original plan called for Dryden only, but somehow when relaying it to Lord Ramkin who had been consulting with King Aston who had been consulting with Meiden Fassa, Millerna was added in. He didn't envy Revius.

Neither did he envy Millerna or Dryden.

He had a feeling if he didn't resolve this crisis fast, there might be another assassination attempt. Only this one wouldn't be perpetuated by any shadowy conspiracies. It was some consolation knowing the odds of either Dryden or Millerna actually succeeding in getting rid of Revius were slim to none but still, having the guarded turn on their guarder would not be good public relations. And Alucier could use the best publicity he could get.

As a precaution, he ticked off a list of things Revius should and should not do in regards to his charges. Revius nodded along, occasionally stopping to stuff another piece of food in his mouth.

"Under no circumstances are you to refer to Millerna in any way that involves the color pink."

"Thas na fair"

"It's perfectly fair. You lowly knight. Her respected princess."

"So?" Revius swallowed the chunk of fruit in his throat. "It's not like I'd call her that to her face. I just use it to mumble a clever aside or say it to Dryden when he's being a huge pansy about her."

"No."

"Like you're going to be eavesdropping on me."

"I said 'no', Revius!"

Revius relented in true Revius fashion. "Jeez, why don't you stamp your feet some and throw a real tantrum. I promise I'll be a good boy and observe all proper protocol when dealing with someone ranked ever so much higher than my lowly self."

Alucier would take what he could get at this point. "Good, because your behavior doesn't just reflect on you, it reflects on all of the Caeli. And it especially reflects on me when I can't keep a friend of mine under control."

"Hey, I stopped betting on the tournament for you, now you're asking me to babysit Princess Millerna and not make jokes about her? I know you're my friend and all, but some sacrifices are too steep."

Alucier was fairly positive this was a joke itself anyway, but offered a compromise just in case. "You can still think the jokes to yourself. All I ask is you not laugh out loud or do anything else that is improper towards a princess."

"Can do," Revius promised. More privately he added, "Does that mean you're going to neuter Allen?"

Thankfully, neither Eries nor Allen caught the remark. Alucier was not going to ask for it to be repeated. Before Revius could volunteer that service on his own, Alucier decided breakfast was over for his fellow knight as well and both of them needed to go on duty at this very second. He marched Revius out of Eries' quarters so swiftly, Revius didn't have a chance to grab any leftovers to go.

"Do you have any idea what that was about?" Allen asked.

"It's Revius," Eries answered simply and that more than covered it.

Alone at last, the two contemplated partaking in activities of the sort that directly violated the rules Alucier had set out for Revius.

"Since we're not to leave the palace unless necessary, our 'shopping' trip's been cancelled," Eries said, not sounding the least bit disappointed. "I guess we'll have to spend the day stuck together in here."

"How terrible," Allen replied. "Whatever will we do to occupy ourselves?"

Eries had suggestions. There were a few she wasn't brazen enough to say aloud let alone actually go through with at this early in their relationship. The mere thought of them forced her to look away lest she blush too hard.

She wasn't quick enough to stop Allen from catching the rising pink on her cheek. He was far too gentlemanly to comment no matter how inwardly pleased he was to see it.

He was also far too gentlemanly to complain when one of the palace guards knocked at Eries' door, Marqesita in tow.

It was his duty to look after the both of them now. He couldn't turn her away.

Observant as always, Marqesita quipped, "I hope I'm not interrupting anything" as she sat down at the table.

"Merely finishing our breakfasts," Eries answered. "I didn't expect to see you today or so early at that."

"So I was interrupting something…" The fading pink on Eries' cheek was a telltale sign to Marqesita that she was right. Confirmation being all she wanted, she was content to let Eries off the hook and talk about something else. "Sorry for just showing up like this but if I had to stay in my room any longer, I was going to have to start breaking things."

"I'm gathering you didn't have a restful night," Eries said.

A yawn sufficed for an answer so Marqesita went ahead and explained. "How could I? Last night was a mess. Yelling at Tellot, hearing he was hurt and then getting self-righteously indignant with Bennor because he wasn't crying his eyes out. Much as I hate to admit the little jerk is right about anything, Bennor wasn't too far off the mark questioning how I was reacting to the stabbing. I don't know…I think I was trying to prove I wasn't a bad sister by lashing out at my other idiot brother."

"But you are concerned about Tellot," Allen argued.

"Not as much as I probably should be… In case you haven't notice, we e' Egzard siblings are not as close as you would think." She reconsidered what she had said and added, "Of course, between the bickering over the throne and accusations that we are trying to kill each other, nobody probably thinks we're close at all."

There was an opportunity in there to get a definitive answer about Egzardia's king. Allen normally wouldn't go on such an overt fishing expedition, but if it could shed light on Alucier's investigation, a little intrusiveness was a necessary evil. "If there's a question of succession, couldn't you have your father decide it?"

Marqesita didn't answer immediately. She looked at Eries first. "You didn't tell him anything."

"I didn't think it was my place to."

"Your place as a princess who understands how delicate these things are or your place as a friend?"

Eries shrugged. "Both," she said though her place as a princess dictated that she serve the interests of her country before any others.

Marqesita was well aware of that duty. She knew it did not include keeping secrets that were easily exploitable for gain. She knew it also didn't include staying silent when speaking would benefit one of your knights.

As Allen had never struck her as the needlessly gossipy type, she figured he was asking on behalf of Alucier's investigation. The people who had arranged Tellot's attack had to be found. Keeping quiet could delay that.

Knowing that whatever she told Allen would make it back to Alucier and absolutely no one else, she spoke. "My father passed away a few days ago. We were keeping it to ourselves to prevent Egzardia from looking weak at the summit."

It was what Allen had already suspected but having it spelled out irrefutably was still shocking. Before he'd been contemplating if it could be true or not. Now all the implications of the former were sinking in.

He guessed Marqesita had been going through the same from the moment she heard of her father's death. She didn't need more speculation from him. He offered condolences instead.

"I appreciate it," she said. "And tell Alucier I appreciate in advance the condolences he'll offer when you tell him."

Allen was nonplussed that she'd read his intentions so clearly and felt guilty for having them in the first place. "If you don't want me to say anything…"

"Allen, if I wanted you to keep quiet, I wouldn't have told you. News of my father's death is going to come out sooner or later. If sooner for Alucier helps him find the people who did this, then sooner it will be."

There wasn't much else to say and the three fell into a pattern of picking at the remains of breakfast while their thoughts drifted. Eries broke the silence with what she hoped was a positive question. "Have you seen Tellot since last night? I heard he was in good condition."

"That's what the doctor who came by our quarters told me and Bennor. Already has his appetite back. Of course, the assassination would have had to actually kill him to rid him of that."

The appropriateness of the black humor was debatable (as was whether it proved the point Bennor was trying to make last night) but Eries was relieved to see Marqesita acting like her old self after the high emotions she'd gone through yesterday. "We've nothing else to do today. If you'd like to visit him, I could go with you."

"Only if our brave guard would see us through the treacherous halls of your palace. So do you think, Sir Allen, you are capable of such a heroic deed?"

"For you two ladies, I would cross these halls a thousand times over."

They only needed to make the trip once. One thorny obstacle did appear once they reached the medical ward Tellot had been taken to for his recovery, in the form of Bennor being trailed by his own guard, one of the younger contestants for the Caeli title. The guard had to be younger than Bennor by a couple of years, a fact the Egzardian seemed to take as a personal insult.

Bennor, naturally, was not shy about filing a complaint. He chose Allen as the lucky recipient, though chivalry would have demanded Allen send Eries and Marqesita ahead to see Tellot while he suffered anyway.

"Is there a reason why I'm being assigned a boy just out of training?" Bennor demanded.

"I assure you," Allen paused to search his memory for the name of the guard. He had to think quickly because he hadn't distinguished himself as one of the lead candidates. A name popped into his head and had to trust it was right. "Julian here is highly skilled guardsmen. He would not have qualified for the Caeli tournament otherwise."

Julian brightened at being correctly identified by and receiving praise from a superior.

Bennor's reaction was not so positive. "Wonderful, so he entered a contest. My faith has increased exponentially." This was technically true, as no matter how many times you multiplied the number zero, you'd still be stuck with zero.

Allen did his best to argue Julian's merits, an effort that was not aided by the young guard's overt enthusiasm making him look younger still. Allen didn't want to believe Alucier would let bias result in Bennor receiving inferior protection. His friend was up to something, definitely, by assigning a man who hadn't distinguished himself much in combat, but there had to be more to it than that.

It was futile arguing anyway. Allen could have presented a list of achievements rife with foiling political assassinations and un-distressing damsels and Bennor wouldn't have been satisfied. He didn't want to be.

So when Marqesita returned from her visit with Tellot, reconciliation (or at least a polite truce) in mind, there was little chance she was going to get what she wanted.

"Checking your handiwork?" Bennor goaded.

Marqesita repeated a soothing mantra in her head. _I will not strangle the little jerk. I will not strangle the little jerk. _"I came here," she said calmly, "out of concern for my family, which you are part of. I was hoping we might set aside our differences."

In the past, Allen had had a cynical view of the concept of hope. Some things just were not going to happen, no matter how much you wanted them to. This last summer though, after spending enough time around Hitomi to have her optimism rub off on him and then using that optimism to reach out to Eries so that they could be where they are now, he'd come to believe that hope was precious and one should never lose sight of it.

Still, there were exceptions to every rule and Bennor _was_ exceptional in his own special way.

Eries came to the same conclusion on the odds of there being a peaceful resolution. Unfortunately, her position at the time of realization was between coming out into the room with the bickering siblings or continuing to linger at the threshold of Tellot's door and thus Tellot's company. There was a door, hanging slightly ajar, leading to another private room in the medical ward on the far wall. A point of the finger first to Allen and then to the door and the two began sidling towards it.

Of course, they could have stomped the whole way and neither Bennor nor Marqesita would have noticed.

"I'm willing to give you the benefit of the doubt despite how you've been supposedly secluding yourself in your room all these nights where no one can vouch for you."

"Oh, that really sounds as if you're giving me the benefit of the doubt, Sita."

Allen went in to the darkened room ahead of Eries, looking for the lanterns. He announced that he had found one and Eries pushed the door close behind her, eager to shut out the fight raging outside.

"Wait, this isn't a patient's room," Allen said as the lantern brightened the room.

It was a storage room to be exact, the one that housed all the various medications doled out to patients. This included the rare and expensive medicines that had a tendency to catch the eyes of thieves. As a precaution, the maintainers of the ward had designed this room with extra security in mind. The main form this security took was a heavy door that automatically locked on both sides once it was closed.

Eries heard the bolts click into place just as she reached for the handle. She tried pulling on it anyway. No luck.

"Good choice for a hiding place," Allen teased.

Ignoring him, she knocked on the door. Somebody had left it open. Surely they would be back soon to fix his or her mistake. True, that person hadn't been very conscientious in making sure the door was shut in the first place but Eries had to think the doctors and nurses who worked at the palace were the kind of people who double checked things.

She knocked again but the hard material of the door kept the sound from being little more than a slight patter – nothing that could be overheard amidst the increasingly loud row between the e' Egzard siblings. The fight also had the effect of driving away the staff that would normally roam the ward and take note of such things as a princess and a knight disappearing into a locked storage room.

In short, Allen and Eries were stuck.

"Someone will come eventually," Eries said. That eventually was an extremely ill-defined amount of time that could equal a few seconds from now or a few seconds short of never went unsaid.

"That will be a proud moment in the history of the Caeli," Allen sighed, "having to be rescued from a storage room."

"I guess it will make Alucier look better in comparison."

The situation was too ridiculous to not laugh.

"Maybe I should claim that as a motive," Allen mused. "You know Revius will never forget this otherwise."

"I could take some of the blame. I did lead you in here, after all." Eries gave one last twist on the handle on the off chance the door had magically unlocked itself. It hadn't. "I could always swear the person who finds us to secrecy too."

That sounded like a good plan. All they needed was for someone to come along and actually find them.

In the mean time, they sat down on some crates that were stacked on opposite sides of the door. They could still hear Marqesita and Bennor going at it.

"For Egzardia's sake, I hope they don't reveal as much as they did to you and Alucier last night," Eries said.

"The medical ward is a more public place than their quarters. They should keep themselves in check."

Should wasn't necessarily would. They kept listening – to hear if too much was being said and waiting for a lull in the yelling to make some noise of their own so somebody would figure out they were in here.

It didn't look as if they were going to catch a break. Marqesita started in on some stunt Bennor had pulled in military school as proof positive of his sketchy nature. Bennor countered with a few of her own exploits.

"She certainly has an interesting relationship with her brother," Allen said. "Last night she goes from accusing him to defending him and now she's back to accusing him."

"It does make me feel better about my own relationship with Millerna. Even at our worst, we were never this bad."

"It puts Celena's antics in perspective. The next time we get asked to leave a theater, I won't be as upset with her."

"So that's what happened the other night. I was wondering…"

"Wonder no more. Basically we were seated behind two very prim ladies from Asturia's upper class whom did not care to listen to commentary as provided by an exuberantly bored younger lady."

"I didn't know a person could be exuberantly bored."

"You've never taken Celena to a historical dramatization of King Evra Aston's courtship of Queen Sarina. Poor choice on my part, I'll admit."

Eries tried to guess where on the Aston family tree those two ancestors fell. She became bored herself working back through the bloodlines. She could only imagine the level of tedium Celena must have felt having to sit through a two hour reenactment, especially since Celena had a hard time sitting still for two hours period. Even the Caeli tournament hadn't provided enough excitement to keep her from looking for distractions. Eries asked Allen if his sister had always been like that.

"No, she could actually be quite focused when she was little." He thought of specific incidents to offer as proof and laughed as he remembered one that was similar to the situation he was currently in. "One time, we got stuck hiding in a closet for an entire afternoon and she didn't complain or make any noise at all."

Eries couldn't picture under what circumstances the Schezar siblings would become closet bound. From what Allen had told her of his childhood, he and his sister had been given pretty much free reign over the household, going where they wished to when they wished to.

"We didn't want Mother to know we were listening in on her," Allen explained. He grew quiet as he relayed the whole story. "This was a few months after my father had left looking for Atlantis. He'd been gone for so long without any word. It was unusual for him. Normally, he'd send letters or have a fellow traveler that he knew was going near Palas drop by to let us know they had seen him. But this time…nothing. Mother became so worried she hired men to look for him. She never told us this. She wanted us to think everything was all right. Celena just happened to overhear her speaking with one of the men and she told me about it. We decided when the man came back we'd sneak into the parlor and hide in the closet there so we could eavesdrop. Unfortunately, we only knew the day he was coming by, not the time, so we spent hours in there, waiting, not wanting to come out because we were sure Mother would be upset if she found out what we were doing."

"I see," Eries commented softly. Though the story was tinged with sadness, it was oddly heartening to hear Allen speak of his father with melancholy instead of anger.

But she didn't want that sadness to linger. "So what did the two of you do while you were on your stakeout?"

The question worked. Allen smiled as he recalled, "A lot of whispering back and forth. I told her stories. We played games."

"Any games that might be of interest to two adults stuck in a storage room waiting for foreign royals to calm down and stop scaring off potential rescuers?"

"That's an awfully specific demographic," he joked, "but I can think of one."

"Don't keep me in suspense…"

"You'll do well since you're so insightful." He smiled again, mischievously, and told her how the game would be played. "It's a simple game. I ask you a question about myself. If you're right, you ask me a question about yourself. If you're wrong, I ask you another question. If I ask three questions in a row without you getting an answer correct, I win."

"And vice versa."

"Well, I suppose that could happen."

She thought it unfair that he had simply decided he would go first, thus giving him the advantage, but it was downright arrogant for him to assume he would win. She wasn't going to challenge him to go first though. She was going to beat him at his own game instead, disadvantage and all. "Let us start then with your first question."

"All right, I'll give you an easy one." He looked around the small room, seeking inspiration for the inaugural question. He found it upon spying a small bin used for trash. Someone had left the remnants of a sandwich amidst the empty bottles. "What's my least favorite food?"

This was going to be easy. "Dried meat."

"Your turn."

"What's my least favorite food?"

"Anything that came out of the ocean, especially if it's still in the same shape as when it was swimming around out there."

"Your turn."

"Why is dried meat my least favorite food?"

"Because," Eries said softly, knowing how likely it was that she was the only person who knew this, "it's the food you survived on after you ran away from home and before you met Balgus."

He nodded. She'd answered correctly. "It's odd. I don't think it tastes all that bad but everything associated with it…"

"That's all well behind you, Allen."

"I know," he said, "and as far as I've come from those days, it's foolish. I should have some just to prove I'm not bothered by it anymore."

"That's not a bad idea."

"Maybe we'll have some for dinner this evening, assuming we're out of here by then. You will want some fish to go along with it, yes?"

Eries crinkled her nose. "Absolutely not."

"But don't you want to get over your hang ups?"

"I have no hang ups. I don't eat fish because…there, that's my second question: why is fish my least favorite food?"

He pretended to consider but he already knew. "The taste, the smell and the feeling that you're being watched it gives you when it's served whole – a feeling so strong that even when it's chopped up or served in a filet, you still have it."

With a 'hmph,' Eries conceded defeat. That did sound like a hang up, one considerably sillier than Allen's very natural bad associations. Best to keep the gaming moving then. "Your turn."

Charitably, he did move on without further comment. "Favorite food?"

"That roast with the vegetables cooked in vino that the cooks always make for palace parties. I used to think that was the only reason you ever came to those things."

"It was my duty to come, though I did enjoy the food." He added with a sly smile, "And my dance partner when she could be persuaded to stray from the dessert table."

"I didn't always stay by the desserts."

"Sometimes you just left when no one was looking."

"A technique I learned from you."

"And then mastered far more thoroughly than I."

"Perhaps I simply learn things better and more quickly than you."

"Is that so?" He was sorely tempted to challenge her on that, but he was the only person in the room whose attention she might slip away from and there wasn't any way he would let her slip from sight ever again. She was getting quite playfully smug though, which made him wish to respond in kind. "We seem to be even in this game, two correct questions each –"

"Excuse me, but I've only asked one question."

"So your next question wasn't going to be what your favorite food is? And the answer wasn't going to be dessert, or more specifically berries piled on a heavy cake and drowned in cream?"

He should get extra credit for that, getting both question and answer correct. Should, but wasn't. Eries stated anyone could have guessed from the natural progression of the game. "If you can guess what my next question will be, then I will be impressed."

"It's actually my turn," he pointed out but the chance to impress was too tempting and set about guessing what Eries' question would be. "We've already covered food. Knowing you, you'd want to make the game harder so you'd try to ask me something about yourself that I don't take much interest in myself."

Truthfully, Eries hadn't decided what her next question would be though Allen had been dead on in guessing her strategy. She immediately ruled out anything to do with the council or politics as that fit Allen's description too perfectly. She couldn't outright cheat by contradicting him though, so she settled on a topic that less obviously complied.

"What's my favorite book?"

"Wasn't expecting that," Allen admitted. He was well-read in regard to the sort of popular novels that all high class Asturians should be reading. He was not in regard to the dry historical and societal dissertations Eries stocked her bookshelves with. "It's written by some Egzardian woman…I can't think of the title but it 'explains the critical role key female historical figures have played in shaping society'. The cover's blue, if that helps."

So he knew what book she had in mind and was able to quote a part of the rave review she had given it. "You can't remember the title though. I don't know if you should receive full credit."

"Maybe I can get extra credit."

"I don't see how–"

"It's not really your favorite book, is it? You just say it is."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Eries bluffed. He couldn't possibly know the truth. She'd never spoken of it to him, to anyone for that matter, including Marlene who had given the deep, dark secret to her.

But Allen spoke as if there could be no secrets before him. "There's this one book that you've kept on your shelf for as long as I've known you. Other books come and go, but this one stays. The cover's gotten rattier over the years, from use surely, as I can't imagine it becoming damaged simply by sitting still and somehow, the part of the spine with the title of the book on it is so damaged, you can't make out what it says. Of course, it's been like that since the first time I noticed it."

He _was_ describing The Book. She'd never even planned on reading it or any of the other books Marlene had pawned off on her, but in a moment of boredom, she'd picked it up with the intention picking it scathingly apart. But she'd read the first paragraph then the first page then the first chapter and hadn't found a bad word to say. The next thing she'd known, it was thirty chapters and a happy ending later and she'd felt compelled to hang on to the thing.

She'd read it at least once a year since then and every single time she wondered why she was reading this tripe even as she couldn't put it away. She'd justified under the premise that everyone had a guilty pleasure. Hers was just guiltier than most. Such guilt had led her to rip off the spine, sandwich the book between other, more stately reads so no one could ever read the title and never tell a soul.

But somehow, one soul had noticed anyway.

"It has a red cover," Allen continued. "I think the printers chose that color to reflect the passion that is referenced in the title."

Damn him, he'd even pulled it off the shelf. Odds were slim that once in hand, he hadn't skimmed through it.

Not that the title wasn't a dead give away to the contents. "Passions in the Palace," Allen announced, barely able to keep a straight face. "The story of a young handmaiden who finds herself in a torrid love triangle between the crown prince of Asturia and the evil noblewoman he is being forced to marry."

"I see you've read it too," Eries said snippily. There was no defense for her fondness for the stupid book so she might as well drag Allen down with her.

"No, my mother read it. She loved those kinds of novels, had them all over the house. So years ago when a saw that familiar crown and heart logo that her favorite printers used on the spine of a book on your shelf, I couldn't help but investigate."

"And you've been keeping tabs on it ever since."

"Can you really blame me? It was so…incongruous…with everything else you've read."

"I'm sure you were thrilled every time you checked on it to see it still sitting there." How could he not be? That book was fodder for endless humor. To Alucier and Revius, it would be a veritable treasure.

Which begged the question… "You didn't tell anyone about it, did you?"

"I did not," Allen vowed, serious in spite of what he was swearing to.

"Dare I ask why not?"

"Because I know anyone else would merely take it as a joke."

"And what do you take it as?"

"A symbol," he answered thoughtfully, "a symbol of the fact that underneath your pristine demeanor, there's a human with the same silly idiosyncrasies as the rest of us. I'm sure you hate yourself for liking it, but I think it's rather charming."

"Is that so?" Eries didn't feel so bad about her reading habits anymore. The book was still trash deeply beneath her but she understood what Allen meant. She didn't mind at all that he knew of this tiny part of her. She was glad for it. So glad, she could speak a little more freely. "It really isn't all that bad. The author has a fluid, descriptive style that would serve her well if she ever attempted to write a real book."

Allen thought for a moment then confessed through a sheepish grin, "I know what you mean. Out of all of Mother's books, that was the easiest to get through."

Eries jumped up from her crate. "You have read it!"

"I was…curious. I haven't read that many of Mother's books but seeing one of them in your library-"

"You've read more of those things than I have, haven't you!" Eries accused. She'd gone from shame, to not-so-bad, to somewhat gleeful. "If anyone should be mocking anyone-"

"I should be mocking you for reading the same one over and over again."

"It's not as if I've memorized the book." And she didn't have the _whole_ book memorized, just large portions of it and her memory was sharp like that.

"Fine then, I'll mock you for doing worse than me at this game. We were even but I think I deserve to ask two questions in a row for being able to name both books."

He hadn't actually named the first, fake favorite book, but Eries let it slide. She settled back on the crate, her competitive spirit eager to prove Allen wrong with actions instead of words. "Ask away."

"I would ask you what my favorite book is but that will be little more than an opportunity for you to take a cheap jab."

"I would never," Eries said in a tone that meant she would do just that the second she got a chance.

"How about something more pedestrian?" He searched the storeroom for another cue like the sandwich but came up with nothing. Finally, he settled on something Eries would consider banal and thus be less likely to know. "What is my favorite item of clothing to wear?"

As well as he wore it, Eries knew it wasn't the Caeli uniform. The blue and the gold was definitely a case of form over function. These days, she seldom saw him in anything else but at the end of the summer, while he was on leave and tending to Celena, she'd seen him dressed casually. Blandly too, she had thought, usually in a simple pair of trousers and a basic tunic. Then again, she, with her collection of high collared, long skirted dresses, shouldn't be calling anyone else's fondness for simplicity into question.

She wasn't positive but without any other ideas, she went with the bland outfit. He wouldn't have worn it so much otherwise. She was rewarded with a nod indicating she was correct.

But she wasn't off the hook yet. Allen had another question to ask. This one was a great deal trickier.

"What is my favorite item of clothing for _you_ to wear?"

Eries' thoughts went to her standard attire too. It had never occurred to her that Allen might have a favorite dress among them. Then she saw the gleam in Allen's eyes and thought again. Clearly, he had a more 'special' outfit in mind.

There was a lot of potential for embarrassment in both the wrong and the right answer. There was also the potential for an intriguing bit of fun.

"Any hints?" she asked.

"Are you saying that you need some?"

"Out of all the topics we've covered over the years, fashion hasn't been one of them."

"Precisely why I asked. But I assure you, I don't like this outfit because it's stylish."

The impish tone that laced his voice left little to the imagination as to why Allen liked the outfit he was thinking of - which led Eries to believe the outfit in question was of a similar nature.

She didn't have many of those outfits. "The dress I wore to the last ball?" He (and every other male in the room) hadn't been able to take his eyes of her in that dress. Plus, it was what she was wearing when she'd told him she'd been in love with him. A bad association led to his dislike of dried meat; the best of associations might lead to the opposite.

Or it might not. "Very close, Eries. In fact, that is my second favorite thing I've seen you wear."

"Well, don't count on seeing me out in public in that thing again," she said. She didn't mention the odds of a private showing.

"Even if I loaned you my mother's earrings and necklace again?"

The odds started looking good, too good to let Allen know his chances just yet. "You wouldn't be trying to bribe me, would you?"

"Of course not," Allen insisted, ever so shocked at the implied impugning of his honor. "But the jewelry, the dress and you look as if they were made to be together."

He was laying it on thick, coming off as the roguish flirt her father had damned him for. Eries ate up every last bite. "If that's what you think, my birthday is coming up shortly."

"You're angling for an awfully expensive gift."

"You're the one who said they were made to be together with me."

"I said they _looked _as if they were."

"You're nitpicking."

"You're being greedy."

"And you're missing an opportunity. Your birthday isn't that much longer after mine."

Eries had never done this before, throwing such much innuendo into a statement she might as well be holding a sign. Nonetheless, it felt easy. It felt good.

The sentiment was shared. Allen, of course, had years more of experience, but neither the quantity nor the quality of his own flirting dimmed his appreciation of Eries' freshman effort. "You make a very tempting offer…"

"Hmm," she laughed. "Is that all it takes? Just the chance of glimpsing a sight of dress, jewelry and me together again will have you handing over a family heirloom? No wonder the handmaidens always joke about men being fools."

"We are fools because you make us so. But, alas, no. You're reading too much into my words again. I said I was tempted, not that I had accepted."

"Deals can be sweetened."

"And I have the exact terms I want in mind, but you have yet to guess them."

He had her there. He'd admitted the dress was his second favorite outfit for her but she hadn't made any guesses after that. She'd been enjoying teasing him too much over the dress and he'd been too busy enjoying being teased. "I see," she said. "You want me to wear the jewelry with something else."

"I'm not sure how much it would match though. The sapphires go so well with the dress but they'd seem out of place with what I have in mind."

"Then I suppose you'll be buying me other jewelry."

"You have a one track mind."

"_You_ are accusing _me_ of having a one track mind?"

"You do. As do I. We suit each other like that."

Yes, they did have some thoughts in common. It was only the specific thought of what Allen wanted to see her wear that was eluding Eries. She really wanted to amend that.

"Give me a hint, what type of stone should I be expecting in my new necklace and earrings?"

"I don't know…I've already gotten you the earcuffs for one of your birthdays. I'd hate to repeat myself."

"In this case," Eries said, her hand going up to touch the groove of one of the aforementioned earcuffs, "I think you can make an exception. These have been the most treasured gift I've received."

"Then I will really find you something impressive to top it." This wasn't a jest. He would scour every market in Asturia to find Eries something that would mean that much to her.

That in of itself was a gift. "You don't have to give me anything at all, Allen, so long as you're there for me."

He leaned towards her, holding her in a steady gaze. Without realizing it, Eries leaned forward as well, leaving but a sliver of space between them.

"I would never leave your side," Allen said.

"Oh," Eries breathed, so close Allen could feel the warmth of her words on his lips.

"It's my job," he whispered.

Eries shoved him back to where he had been. "Talk about missing an opportunity," she scolded.

"I'm sorry," he chuckled, "I couldn't help myself. It's not everyone I can be so relaxed with."

"No, it's not," Eries admitted and feeling the same way lessened her dislike of missing the opportunity herself. Still, Allen had some reparations to be making. "But you need to choose your methods of relaxation more carefully."

He started leaning forward again. "You'll give me a second chance?"

Eries leaned back. "I believe we were discussing jewelry."

"You're not going to make me wait for my birthday are you?"

"Depends on how nice that jewelry is."

She tried to keep a stern face but had as much luck maintaining it as Allen did trying to sustain a frown. She was able to resume character first though and used the advantage to the hilt. "I think you should tell a little something about the jewelry you'll be buying."

"So bold with your assumptions."

"I can be bold in other areas as well, but if you prefer me to be timid…"

"No, no. I can't imagine a timid Eries."

"Can you imagine what sort of jewelry a bold Eries would be wearing?"

She wasn't going to let him off easy. He wouldn't want it that way either. So even though her insistence on having the hypothetical jewelry described was a blatant hunt for clues as to the outfit he was thinking of, he was pleased to oblige her. "It's the sort that's well-crafted with the highest quality gems, as befitting a princess. Of course this means Celena and I might have to go hungry paying for it, but I wouldn't want to insult you with an inferior gift."

Being expensive was the least important criteria in jewelry as far as Eries was concerned. Normal Eries, that is. She and Allen were still discussing Bold Eries and so she went on boldly. "I'll sneak you some food from the palace."

"That's very charitable of you."

"Well, if you starve you can't very well buy me anything further."

"Already thinking of the next gift them?"

"No, there are still some things I want to know about this one. The color of the gems, for instance."

That would be clue number one. Allen helpfully supplied it. "I believe amethysts would be best."

"Amethysts?" she repeated. It was a curious choice. Eries had only a few pieces made with amethysts and she seldom wore them. She liked the color purple but she hardly ever wore it. _Too bold_, she would always think when she tried anything of that color on.

But she was supposed to be bold now so she should dress to match. But how could she do it with her old wardrobe? Allen clearly had a specific item in mind, an item he'd seen her in before. The first dress that came to mind was a heavy, cloak-like number. Revius had taken one look at her and had asked her if she was playing dress up as an elderly nun in mourning. Alucier had added more to the description – an elderly nun in mourning during a particularly cold winter. She'd never worn that dress again.

That couldn't be farther from the correct guess. Allen was turning down the dress she'd worn to the ball; what man in his right mind would prefer to see her in…well, something more rather than less? He'd want something more revealing, lighter – a young, happy nun during the summer.

She'd compared her clothes to a nun's before and about as favorably. Remembering that comparison and the outfit it had persuaded her to wear gave Eries her answer.

Calling it an 'outfit' was charitable. She'd found the thing while on holiday in Egzardia with Allen. At first, she'd had trouble identifying the top as a top, so sheer and scarce was the fabric that comprised it. It was barely enough to cover her chest. The skirt was better but the length it ran down to her feet was belied by how low the waist hung off her hips.

Eries hadn't worn it since that day. She hadn't gotten rid of it either. She couldn't forget how Allen had looked at her when she had emerged from the dressing room.

He, apparently, hadn't forgotten either.

She would not blush. She refused to. Unfortunately, her cheeks weren't quite in agreement with this demand.

Allen read her perfectly. "You've thought of it, haven't you?"

"That thing from Egzardia," she answered. "I can't believe you remember it."

"Trust me, Eries. Any man who had ever seen a woman as beautiful as you would never forget the memory as long as he lived."

He wasn't teasing, wasn't even flirting. He was stating it as an absolute fact.

And for once, Eries accepted it as absolute fact. No doubts, no self-deprecating denials, no qualifications at all. "I don't think I could ever tire of hearing you say that," she said.

"Good, because I have no intentions of stopping."

He leaned forward again and this time, Eries moved to meet him. He stopped, content just to look at her.

Eries wasn't as patient. She brushed her lips against his, softly once, then twice.

Their positions on the crates made anything deeper awkward and that would not do. Eries rose and slowly slid into Allen's embrace, her eyes never once leaving his.

They were well into the third kiss when they finally heard banging against the door. Her instincts told her to move away from Allen and quickly, but the rest of Eries was reluctant to leave such a cozy perch.

Sometimes though, decisions are taken out of your hands.

"Eries? Allen? Are you in there?" Marqesita's voice came through the door.

Explaining how they got stuck in here would be embarrassing enough without adding the extra difficulty of being found in a compromising position.

"I know I offered to do it before but I don't suppose you'd want to take the blame for this?" Eries whispered as she stood up from Allen's lap.

"If I must tarnish my honor to protect yours," he whispered back, "I will gladly do it."

He shouted to Marqesita that yes, they were both in here and yes, they would both like to get out.

They could hear Marqesita laughing on the other side. She assured them though that she was taking their quandary very seriously and was sending for a doctor or a nurse with a key. Her sincerity was questionable, more so when she muttered, "Honestly, how do you get locked up in a room in your own palace?"

"The door is locked," Eries groused. "That doesn't mean it's soundproof."

This caused a brief moment of panic as Eries and Allen wondered if that meant someone might have heard them. "No, couldn't be," Allen concluded. "Marqesita wouldn't have asked if we were in here."

Because Marqesita Verlana e' Egzard wasn't a woman of great discretion who would give two friends time alone together while making sure no one bothered them until it became suspicious why she was hanging outside a locked door. Definitely not.

A key bearing nurse arrived shortly and set them free. She was far too respectful of her princess and the Knights of Heaven to say anything other than, "Oh, that's not the first time that's happened and it won't be the last."

Eries thanked her profusely. From Marqesita, she extracted a promise of silence.

"I've no one to tell," the other princess claimed. "And Bennor stalked off angry before he noticed you were missing. As for Tellot…Tellot doesn't notice the obvious on a good day and they've been giving him these nice pills to keep him happy and extra oblivious. Your secrets are safe with me."

Such a statement was usually meant to reassure. Marqesita's didn't quite make it with the wink and sly smile she delivered it with. But Eries couldn't get alarmed. She'd enjoyed the time she'd spent with Allen too much and the only apprehension she could work up was wondering when they'd get the chance to repeat it.

She'd install locks on every door of the palace herself if she had to.

* * *

Next up: I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For. It's CSI: Palas with Alucier and Revius on the strangely well-marked trail of an assassin. 


	21. I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking F

Intrigues of a Princess

XX: I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For

As Alucier was discovering as he sifted through page after page of duly recorded eye witness accounts of Tellot's attempted assassination, some of the duties he had taken on in his quest to succeed Lord Ramkin were less than welcome. He could hope only that, in the end, they'd be worth it. To get to that distant end though, he'd have to start producing some results from these duties.

This was a task that was increasingly defining the word 'futile'.

He tossed the report he'd been reading onto one of the piles that sprawled across the entirety of the large table in Lord Ramkin's office. "Amazing how nobody saw enough to be able to stop it from happening yet the second you send a palace archivist out, every last man, woman and child in the vicinity has a whole novel's worth of crap to tell."

The man sitting in Lord Ramkin's chair wasn't surprised. "Everybody wants their moment of glory. If they have to get creative with some details, hey, a little imagination never hurt anybody."

"It's hurting my investigation. Half these people don't even describe Tellot right, let alone the assassin. I can't rely on anything they say."

"Good thing you already know what Tellot and that corpse Allen dragged back look like then."

That was meant to be a helpful attempt at cheering Alucier up but intentions weren't everything. Alucier grew even more peeved. 'You're not being that reliable yourself. And for God's sake, Revius, will you get out of Lord Ramkin's chair? He's letting me use his office. I'd rather not have it desecrated in the process."

"Desecrated," Revius snorted. "I could have been sitting in this chair for real one day if I hadn't withdrawn my name from consideration just so you could look better. You'd think you'd be a little more appreciative."

"Yeah, you'd think…But I'm not. Out. You. Chair. Now."

Revius obliged but that hardly meant he was going to behave. "Why don't you try it? It's nice and comfy. You can spin around in it too."

"Aren't you supposed to be watching over Princess Millerna and Dryden right now?"

"I fobbed Dryden off for the day on a guard who owes me for poker and Millerna's going to be spending the afternoon with her father and his pack of guards."

"Glad you're taking your duties seriously."

"It's just for today. Besides, Millerna told me I wasn't necessary. I think she was afraid I'd bring Dryden around."

Alucier had other theories as to why Princess Millerna would tell Revius to go away. It wasn't hard to come up with them; they were the same reasons he had. The only difference was Revius was neither obligated nor inclined to listen to any orders Alucier gave.

"And really," Revius rambled on, "doing my job by sticking those two together would only serve to make Meiden Fassa happy and nobody wants that."

"Uh, huh…"

"I'm really doing them a service."

"Sure…"

"Plus, with my time free, I get to help you out."

"Define help."

Revius didn't miss a beat. "I help you by getting you to unclench for a little bit. Come on, the chair's still here. Don't you want to see how it feels?"

"I'll see when or if I get named as Lord Ramkin's successor. Until then, I'm not going to jinx it."

"Fortanen would sit on it."

"I don't care what Fortanen would do. I care about this investigation. If I screw this up, I'll never get to sit in that chair ever."

"Yeah, true," Revius said. "So shouldn't that mean you should sit in it now just in case?"

After reading a report and finding it unusable, Alucier would set it aside in a special trash pile. He had lamented how large that pile had gotten. But in accordance to the Cosmic Law of everything having a purpose, he became at peace with the stack as he picked up chunks of it and heaved them at Revius until there was no stack left.

"Somebody's stressed out," Revius commented. "Exactly what I was warning you about." He let his 'I told you so' lie at that, not wanting to provoke his friend any further and set about being extra helpful by gathering up the papers.

"Sorry," Alucier said but let Revius carry on with the clean up on his own. "I've been at this all morning and nothing. Just when I think somebody actually saw something, the very next detail in their report is totally off."

"So? Just because they got one thing wrong doesn't mean everything's wrong." Revius grabbed at report at random and skimmed through the account. "Big guy in weird clothing staggering around…they got Tellot down…guy in dark clothes and some kind of hood so you couldn't see his face…sounds like our dead friend…stared at each other for a bit…Hoodie runs off, Tellot falls over…What are you complaining about, Alucier? This sounds like a great witness!"

"I remember that one. Keep reading."

Skimming further, Revius came to the end of the report. "Oh, so this person heroically came to Tellot's side and bandaged him up while you stood there twiddling your thumbs. Do they have a friend who caught the assassin instead of Allen?"

"Not him." Alucier gestured to the other papers. "But apparently Allen stole credit from at least four other people. I still have more to go through so I expect that number to climb."

"Damn, must have been crowded out there on the street with all those heroes walking around."

"And yet none of us was able to stop it."

"If you're going to start sulking again," Revius warned, "I'll go hang out with Allen instead. Though really, that's not that much of a dig any more. He's been oddly happy lately."

Alucier knew his next line was supposed to be 'I wonder why that is?' but he refused to say it. He had enough problems and a pressing deadline to solve them without speculating Allen's sudden streak of contentment.

Revius' free time, on the other hand, was bountiful. "Aren't you the slightest bit curious as to why?"

"No."

"Don't even have a guess?"

"No."

"Don't you want to hear my guess?"

"No."

"Do you think I care that you don't want to hear my guess?"

"No."

"So is that a 'no' to letting me give it?"

"No…Wait…what the hell was that last question?"

It was a cheap victory, but Revius wasn't picky. Prideful, on the other hand… "See, you should have me interview people. I have a gift in getting people to say things they don't mean to say."

"I don't think annoying people to the point where they say 'no' to everything that comes out of your mouth either qualifies as a gift or will help in anyway."

"Sure it will. You can play the good Caeli who's in pursuit of truth, justice and all that other crap and I can play the bad Caeli who gets on their nerves so much, they talk to you just to make me shut up."

He wasn't going to get a better offer of help from anyone else. There might even be something to Revius' strategy too. He picked up the list of names and addresses of the witnesses and with a heavy sigh, gave in. "All right, let's go."

0-0-0-0

"I've seen that guy before," the woman said. She grabbed the drawing an artist had made of the assassin out of Alucier's hand. It was a remarkable likeness. But then, the subject had been lying incredibly still so it had been easy for the artist to get all the details right.

"Oh, I've definitely seen him. There's a tavern three streets down, makes the best soup you ever had. He was always hanging around the bar whenever me and my Darrick would go in for supper. Thought he worked there for a while but a barmaid was quick to set me straight when I asked what he did. I would have said something in my report, but I just didn't get a good enough look at him when that blond guy dragged his body over. Sorry about that."

"Nothing to be sorry for, madam. Nothing to be sorry for at all." Alucier instead thanked the woman profusely and wrote down the address of the tavern in question. After an hour of going door to door with no results, this woman had been a goldmine, providing his first lead to the assassin's origins. A good lead too, from the sounds of it.

"Rev, we gotta go," he shouted down the street.

Revius waved him away. He too had found an interesting witness – another female, who couldn't really recall any useful information but pursed her lips in the most adorable fashion while she tried so gosh darn hard to remember something helpful.

"Now, Revius," Alucier shouted again. He wasn't going to wait. He wanted to get to that tavern while the memory of the assassin's time there was still fresh in everybody's minds. Give people a little extra time and it was amazing how quickly selective amnesia could set in.

Revius did join him shortly after assuring his witness that if she did happen to remember anything, he would gladly come back to chat with her.

Alucier's witness watched the scene with a smile and the shake of her head. She was glad she and Darrick were beyond all that silly courting nonsense. They had a family now to take care of, a house to pay for. It was hard work, sure, but worth it at the end of the day to have someone to share her life with and a place to call her own.

It helped too that a nice Cesarian gentleman had come along and offered her more gold than either she or her husband had made last year just to be at a certain place at a certain time and to say certain things when a Caeli Knight came around.

She would have been a fool if she had turned him down.

0-0-0-0

'The best soup you ever had' not withstanding, the tavern Alucier and Revius found themselves in was not the sort of place they'd like to spend too much time in. There was hardly a person in the whole place whose face wouldn't look at home on a wanted poster. Actions spoke louder than appearances too. As soon as Alucier and Revius, resplendent in their Caeli uniforms, entered, there was a furor of people scrambling to get objects under tables, into coat pockets and any other places of concealment they could think of.

"Yeah, that's not conspicuous," Revius muttered.

Neither man was here to round up petty criminals so they let the activity go 'unnoticed'. They headed towards the bar instead, where Alucier introduced himself by shoving the sketch of the assassin under the bartender's nose and telling him any recollections he had of the man pictured would be highly beneficial.

"Never seen him," was the bartender's predictable answer.

"Are we doing the routine?" Revius asked with a sigh.

"No," Alucier said, "I don't have time for it."

The bartender went back to clean out a mug, albeit a bit uneasily. They were supposed to ask him if he was sure and tell him to take another look.

Alucier put the sketch away instead. "I talked to one of your regulars who recognized him almost immediately. Now, some people might consider it strange that you aren't able to do the same. I, however, have different considerations."

"Look, I'm telling you, I don't know him. We get lots of people in here. I can't remember all of 'em."

Alucier rolled his eyes. He had just said he wasn't going to do the routine! "I know what you're telling me and it's not the truth. And I don't care that you need to protect your clientele by playing cute with the authorities. If you don't tell me who this man is and who you've seen him with, you will have no clientele. I will look under every table and search every person in here. I will have guards crawling all over this establishment. Judging from the angry looks I can see reflected in that nice mirror you have hanging behind the bar that would not be a good thing."

Without turning, he added, "Revius, the guy by the window who thinks he's being subtle with the knife under the table–"

As if from nowhere, a small throwing knife suddenly became wedged into the top of said table exactly above where the man was keeping his knife.

"You mean that guy?" Revius said.

The man sheathed his knife. He wasn't subtle at all this time, placing the knife on top of the table beside Revius' throwing knife for all to see. He wanted the Caeli to be very aware that he was unarmed.

"Er, maybe I do know that guy in the sketch," the bartender mumbled. ""Let me take another look."

Alucier produced the sketch again and this time it miraculously sparked the bartender's memory. "Yeah, I think I have seen him. It took me awhile because I usually work days and this guy came in at night."

"He doesn't come in anymore?" Alucier feigned innocence.

"Er, no…" the bartender stammered. He wondered if there was any use in keeping up the pretense that he didn't know the man in the sketch was dead. The Caeli's bemusement didn't sound genuine and even if it was, it would only be a matter of time until that fact came out into the open. He figured the Caeli would be happier if that openness occurred sooner rather than later. "Word on the street is that he's dead."

"Uh, huh. Any other words on the street?"

"Not that I know…"

"Any words in this bar?"

"Well, I, uh…" The bartender debated on how much information to give. On one hand, the Caeli would be very angry if he did not receive the information he wanted. On the other, there were a whole lot of people who would be even angrier if he did. These people greatly outnumbered the Caeli and his partner. The only advantage the Caeli had was the fact that he was standing less than a sword's length away from the bartender whereas the opposition was hiding in the shadows during the day as they were often wont to do. There was nothing stopping them from coming out at night though.

Saviors can come from unlikely places to unlikely people however. Before the bartender could decide whose bad side he'd rather be on, a volunteer stepped up to shoulder the burden. He looked a little cleaner than most of the other patrons and while they had trouble looking at anything but the floor, this man strode right up to Alucier, looking him in the eye the entire time.

He gave a nod then leaned in to whisper, "If I could speak to you privately, I might be able to help you out."

"All right," Alucier agreed. He informed the bartender that he might be back (you never could know these things after all) then he and Revius escorted the informant outside.

They walked clear to the end of the street then turned down a small path that barely qualified as an alley. That was fine with them; it meant no one was going to bother them. Revius lingered at the entrance while Alucier and the informant went further back just in case.

"Guess I won't be going back there," the man sighed. He didn't seem terribly upset with the prospect though he did lament how much he'd miss the cheap price of a drink there. It would surely cost him more to find a new place to spend time.

Alucier held out a piece of gold he had on him, but he wasn't ready for it to change hands. "Tell me what you know then you can collect your reward."

"Fine, fine," said the informant. "I think I can trust two men of your station to keep your word. You're not like the cutthroats back there. Speaking of cut throats…"

Alucier held the sketch out. "You know what happened to this man."

"I know the line of work he was in and I know what happened to that foreigner outside of Tuvello's. It's not hard to put the two together."

"I know all about what happened outside of Tuvello's, so I need you to tell me all about this man. What was his name?"

"Don't know. You don't ask those kind of questions about those kind of men."

This could lead nowhere fast. Figuring it wouldn't serve any purpose to drag it out with more questions, Alucier told the informant he better start informing.

"Settle down, I said I had something to tell you and I do. I don't know the man's name but I do know other places he used to go and the people he spoke to there."

"And how do you know that?"

The informant smirked. "Let's just say I'm familiar with the business and the major players in it."

That explained why the informant was so eager to talk: he wasn't doing his civic duty; he was hoping to eliminate some of the competition by ratting out the assassin's associates.

Dealing with a criminal wasn't his first choice but it wasn't as if he had the luxury of a second. "All right," Alucier said, "I don't need any details about you. Just go back to him."

"I can't say much for certain, but I do know he was spending a lot of time at the docks – ocean, not leviship. They're not as busy these days. Anyway, there's only one reason to go down there…"

It was easy to guess what that reason would be. The informant, unfortunately, was not in the mood to confirm or deny any guesses. His spirits needed to be raised. When Alucier prodded him to go on, the informant shrugged. "What I'm about to tell you…if word got out I was the one who led you to the docks, it would cause me some…_financial_…hardships."

Alucier dug into the pocket in the lining of his overskirt and found a second coin. "Will this help?"

"Somewhat…not for long…"

_Greedy little bastard_, Alucier groused to himself. What choice did he have though? His hand went into the pocket again and procured a third and final coin. This one was larger than the others and contained a healthier percentage of precious metal.

It met the informant's satisfaction. He proceeded to give Alucier everything he needed: the place to go, the time to be there and a thorough description of the man to look for. "A lot of contracts go through him," the informant said. "I can almost guarantee you he either hired your guy or knows who did. You might have a problem convincing him to tell you who hired him and whatnot, but, well, that wouldn't be _my_ problem."

_No_, Alucier thought, _it's my problem and if I don't solve it and solve it quick_...

He didn't need to finish that thought. He'd been over the consequences of failure again and again from the second he first saw Tellot lying in the street.

He'd do what he must to stave failure off. He would storm the docks, sword at the ready, and force the truth out. Or he would swing by the palace treasury first, empty pocket and an expense request at the ready and go down there to beg and cajole it out. Whatever the situation called for. He couldn't afford to try heroics when bribery would work. With this break he had caught, he was so close to having everything he needed so much sooner than he could have dreamed.

"Ahem, you still have my coins," the informant coughed.

But that didn't mean he'd enjoy doing any of it.

0-0-0-0

The man they were looking for wasn't supposed to be at the docks until after dusk, giving Alucier and Revius plenty of time to check in at the palace (and make a few side trips, including one to the treasury). After that, they'd head home for a change into less conspicuous clothing and then it would be off to the docks.

Revius went to check on his substitute guards for Dryden and Millerna. Alucier conferred with Allen and also, by default Eries. There was no way she was going to miss out on this, regardless of attempted assassinations being out of her purview.

"You're sure you can get this man to tell you who hired him?" she asked.

"It's amazing the things people will admit to when they're faced with spending the rest of their life in a cell…or with a really pointy piece of metal."

Allen took the cautionary approach. "That's assuming this person either is the one who contracted the assassin or knows who did."

The dangers of assuming weren't unknown to Alucier and truthfully, he knew he was placing a lot of faith in this, perhaps too much. But it was all he had to go on and if it panned out, he'd have the mystery solved by morning.

He shouldn't set his hopes so high. The informant might have been motivated to talk but that was no proof against that talk being mistaken or an outright lie. Reluctantly, Alucier agreed with Allen. "True, this might go nowhere but hey, if this isn't the guy we want, at least it'll mean there's one less name on the list of guys it could be."

That might have sounded more optimistic if there actually was a list of suspects other than the man he and Revius were going to track down.

Allen offered to go with them but Alucier wouldn't have it. Two strangers showing up at the docks would draw more attention than was desired anyway. Adding a third wouldn't improve things.

As he left to meet with Revius, Alucier did toss Allen a small bone. "If this is our guy, we'll have to do a thorough search of where he was doing his business. At the docks, you know there's bound to be tons of storerooms for you to check out."

He didn't even have to look at them to know the embarrassment Eries and Allen were feeling. Whatever happened later, Alucier would have the consolation that stopping by Marqesita's quarters before coming to Eries' had certainly paid off.

0-0-0-0

"Nice neighborhood," Revius quipped.

It wasn't funny because it wasn't true. With the rise in prominence of leviships, good old fashioned ocean bound vessels were being used less and less for transportation of cargo. The decrease in business had hit the docks hard as nearly all the legitimate shipping businesses had moved onto higher, more stable ground.

This did suite the illegitimate businesses just fine though. They seemed to be thriving in fact, if one went by all the lights that seemed to be on in the back of the empty, boarded up building that lined the docks.

_Could be squatters_, Alucier thought to himself. These building had been pretty grand in their heyday. With some new paint and a hell of a lot of scrubbing, they might be able to reclaim some of that glory. A case in point was the old hotel set back from the docks. A model of classical Asturian architecture – tall, straight white walls capped by arches, built to withstand the worst the sea (or dereliction) could throw at it – it loomed over the lesser buildings both in size and retaining its respectability. In appearance, at any rate. Given that the hotel was the home base of the man they were coming to meet, the business conducted inside wasn't likely to be on the right side of legality.

They walked right in to the old lobby. Looking like standard riff-raff off the street (a feat accomplished by Alucier borrowing some of Revius' tattier clothes and Revius just dressing as he always did when he wasn't on duty), they didn't attract much attention from the other men scattered around the lobby.

Or they didn't attract much attention while they kept their mouths closed. The second they opened them to mention the name, every set of eyes turned to them.

Only one person spoke up though. He did not rise from his seat by the counter to greet them. He did not move his hand from its place out of view to wave hello. He just barked at them, "What the hell you want with him?"

Alucier shrugged as if bored with the question. "That's not your business. I was told to ask for him so I'm asking for him." It wasn't the politest response but it got him a lot farther than the truth ever would. The only place the truth would lead was a fight.

The man at the counter seemed satisfied as he left without another word to go find the requested man. Alucier and Revius drifted over to an old couch in a secluded nook to wait.

Revius looked at the furniture wistfully. "Hey, we could put this in the apartment instead of those chairs I took from my parent's guest house."

Though this 'new' old couch, still in possession of all of its springs and most of its cushions, was in considerably better shape than the other couch had been before he'd forced Revius to get rid of it, Alucier was not going to indulge in this bit of apartment furnishing. "Do you even know why we're here?" he snapped.

"Jeez, no need to yell. I'm just killing time." The hopeful glance he gave the couch out of the corner of his eyes bespoke otherwise. "Besides, you'll want me here if something goes wrong."

"We're in the most dangerous area of Palas trying to track down the person responsible for hiring an assassin to kill a foreign dignitary. What could possibly go wrong?"

Gallows humor was apropos and Revius appreciated the effort. Still, he was, couch aside, serious about this. "How do you know this guy is even going to bring out the guy we're looking for?"

"The informant was very specific. Did everything short of drawing a sketch himself when he described him."

"How helpful."

"Yeah," Alucier admitted and felt a moment of doubt over whether the informant had been a little too helpful.

He had been highly accurate. The first man reappeared at the other end of the lobby with a second following behind him. As soon as Alucier glimpsed the second man, he knew he was the one he was looking for.

He was not alone in his recognition. Revius muttered a quick, "What the…?" and looked at Alucier in confusion.

"What's wrong?" Alucier asked him.

As an answer, Revius jerked Alucier back further into the nook. "We gotta go," he insisted. "Now."

"But…"

Revius wasn't listening. He'd jerked Alucier back out of the nook and was practically dragging him towards the closest exit. "Just follow me," he whispered, "and don't let that other guy see us."

Weird as he acting and as weird as he could be in general, Alucier knew Revius well enough to know he would not bail on this meeting without a good reason. You didn't stay captain of the palace guard by being bad at your job.

They headed silently for a cluster of men by the back exit, mingled briefly so as not to be too obvious and then, with a quick look back at the man they'd come here to see, bolted through the door and were gone.

They lingered near the exit to see if anyone was going to follow them. After several minutes passed without any activity at the door, they deemed it safe to move on.

As they wound their way through the back alleys, Alucier asked for an explanation. Yes, he trusted Revius but that didn't mean he didn't want to know what was going on.

"We didn't need to meet with that guy to find out who he works for,'" Revius said.

"You sure?"

"Positive. I never bothered to get his name but I did not forget his face. I was stuck on a leviship with the jerk when I went to fetch Dryden at Plesta after all."

0-0-0-0

Alucier again returned to Lord Ramkin's office alone. He'd told Revius to take the rest of the night off. One of them should get a chance to rest tonight.

The evidence he had was circumstantial. An assassin had apparently been hired by a man who had worked for Meiden Fassa. Or a man who had worked for Meiden Fassa just so happened to know who did hire an assassin. There were too many variables in the equation to reach any certain conclusions, but the direction they kept pointing in couldn't be clearer.

Alucier wished he'd been able to speak to the man, but Revius' instincts had been dead on. The man would have recognized Revius as quickly as Revius had recognized him and then he would have been the one beating a hasty retreat. Meaning: A) he wouldn't have been able to speak with him anyway and B) the man would have been armed with the knowledge that two Caeli were looking for him. At least this way, the man didn't know who had wanted to see him. Suspicions might have been raised by standing him up, but the man wouldn't have proof positive confirmation.

Confirmation – that was something Alucier desperately needed now. Accusations, no matter how plausible, simply could not be leveled at someone possessing the kind of power Meiden Fassa had without more to back them up. He'd have to build a case, piece by irrefutable piece, before Meiden's name could even be mentioned in passing.

How in the hell could he build that case? Men like Meiden didn't leave many trails. If Alucier hadn't spoken to that one witness and if the informant hadn't been at the tavern and if Meiden had gotten somebody other than Revius to go with his thug after Dryden…there'd be no trail at all.

This, however, brought him back to assuming. What if there was no trail at all and he was just piecing together a couple of clear patches to make one? So what if this man (assuming, again, he was the right guy) worked for Meiden? People moonlighted. Alucier doubted that men who had 'assassination coordinator' on their resumes made for the most loyal of employees.

He was actually defending Meiden. That was how screwed up this whole mess was.

He remembered a lesson from his swordmaster, a lesson passed down from master to pupil since the concept of teaching had existed: listen to your instincts. A natural born smart-aleck, Alucier had asked his teacher 'what if your instincts are always wrong?' The man, not in the least nonplussed by the question, had answered, 'Listen to 'em anyway. Figure out why they're wrong, then you can figure out how to make 'em right.'

It was easier said than done. His instincts now were jabbering in a conflicted mess.

_It's Meiden Fassa. Of course he's up to something._

_Yeah, but who isn't up to something? _

_Yeah, but who else practically bragged about his intentions to Eries?_

_He never told her anything about assassinating anybody. His methods are more subtle._

_That's exactly why he wouldn't tell Eries he was going to kill somebody. Duh._

_No, that's exactly why he wouldn't resort to something as brazen as an assassination in the middle of the street. _

And that's all it came down to: while Alucier fully believed Meiden possessed the means to organize an assassination attempt and was the kind of man who could readily go through with one if he had a motive for doing so, he had zero proof backing him up, little means of acquiring said proof and a kernel of a doubt there was proof to be found period.

It wasn't helping that the more he thought about it, the more that kernel kept trying to sprout, sending out tendrils of more doubt that had a good chance of taking root.

There was one instinct Alucier knew he could listen to and trust completely: Eries would be just brimming with opinions on this.

0-0-0-0

He tracked Eries down to Marqesita's quarters. He caught her just as she was leaving to retire for the night. He was grateful for the timing. Marqesita could fill him in on any bits of Egzardian politics that he might be missing that might influence the case one way or the other.

And it gave him an excuse to see her too.

Allen was there as well per his duty. He listened to the retelling of Alucier and Revius' adventure with hints of misgivings making themselves known through nods of his head and long intakes of breath.

Eries, much as his shady acts of the past colored her opinion of Meiden, was likewise determined to get all the facts straight before condemning him for any act in the present. "So the informant came to you…He happened to be there. He overheard your conversation with the bartender and then gave you everything you could possibly need for a trifling amount of gold?"

Phrased like that, it seemed obvious there was more going on than met the eye. But there were different ways an eye could see things. Alucier tossed a few of them out to see how probable they seemed. "Those kind of people are known for skulking around, listening in and waiting for opportunities to come up. And if this guy really is the one we want, catching him would put him out of business. That could be worth more than a trifle of gold."

"Or he could have just made you suspect his competition was the man you were seeking," Marqesita offered, "thus eliminating competition that would be otherwise harder to get rid of."

Alucier sighed. "Great, another scenario to make everything that much more confusing."

"That makes how many?" Allen asked. "One: This man was the one who hired the assassin and he did it on Meiden Fassa's orders. Two: He did the hiring but not for Meiden. Three: He didn't do the hiring at all but knows who did and that could be anybody. Lastly: Your informant has very creative ways of beating his competitors."

Eries noted to herself that a few of those scenarios didn't really prove Meiden innocent of anything. Of course, they didn't have anything that proved Meiden guilty either. Personal distaste wasn't grounds for a conviction.

Without a clear path before them they had little choice but to go down multiple paths to find the right way. Somebody, without Revius in tow to scare their target off, would have to go down to the docks. Somebody else would have to go to the bar to have another chat with the informant.

"Wonderful, a field trip!" Marqesita said excitedly.

Allen's look of mortification was eclipsed only by the horror on Alucier's face as both men came to the conclusion she might actually be serious about going out on this investigation.

"Absolutely not," Alucier declared. "You are staying here at the palace."

"Without a guard apparently if Allen is to help you."

"I'll find someone else to do it, or have Revius ditch Millerna and Dryden again. You are not going anywhere regardless."

"Why should I?" she mumbled. "It's not as if it was my brother who was stabbed."

"Sita…"

Seeing that she really was serious about being involved, Eries offered an alternative – a new path that was the shortest yet contained the most twist and turns. "Why don't we have a talk with Meiden? He and I do have summit business to review so it would only be natural for us to speak. If I happened to bring along my good friend, that would make sense as well. And naturally, since Tellot was the victim, the assassination attempt would be a topic of much interest to her."

That wasn't the only thing that interested Marqesita. "I like this plan. I like it a lot. If the weasel is behind this, the chance to catch him myself…"

"No!" Alucier was regretting his decision to include the two women in this more and more. Talking was one thing, but to actually place themselves in danger… "You are not going to give Meiden a reason to pick a new target."

"Assuming he is guilty," Marqesita said. "If he isn't, no harm done. If he is, we have a chance to get to the source."

"Are you crazy?" Alucier asked. "The two scenarios you just presented are either you'll be wasting your time or you'll be making a very dangerous man aware of the fact that you're suspicious of him."

"Oh, please, Alucier," Eries jumped in. "Sita and I are fluent in political double speak. We know how to phrase a question so it doesn't look like a question."

"As I recall," Allen said, joining Alucier's side, "Meiden's fluent as well. He'll know what you're up to."

Eries flashed him a look that said he wouldn't be getting locked in any storage rooms with her for a while. "Then we'll disguise ourselves better. I could invite Dryden along. He agrees with our plans. He'll probably be able to offer more insight into our suspicions."

"Or he might get freaked out because you're accusing his father of attempted murder," Alucier replied.

But even Allen wasn't on board with this. "I don't think Dryden thinks too highly of his father or would put too much past him. And we're not accusing Meiden of anything just yet anyway. We're merely trying to see if there's a foundation for an accusation."

That seemed like a pretty slim splitting of hairs to Alucier, but he couldn't argue with it. He'd gone from having no lead, to having the perfect lead, to making a key discovery and then finally to doubting everything he'd done today.

A skein this tangled wasn't going to unravel itself. Eries and Marqesita were giving him an opportunity to cut through to the core without chasing after every last loose thread. That they were potentially placing themselves in harm's way to do so was the only caveat he had.

It was a big caveat.

And he was sure he wasn't the only one with reservations. "You may be able to tell the difference, Allen, but how will Meiden take it? If they slip up at all and he thinks they think he's up to something-"

"I accuse Meiden of a crime practically on a daily basis," Eries interrupted. "I've never gone so far as to mention murder, but he'd be suspicious if I _didn't_ act suspicious of him over something."

"That's settled then," Marqesita said, as if that odd bending of logic was sufficient.

To the women, it was. The men had a different opinion. Allen was as vocal as Alucier had predicted and hoped. "There's a very large difference between accusing someone of minor crimes and implicating him in an assassination attempt."

"You haven't been listening to Bennor and me fighting, have you?" Marqesita countered. "We've been flinging accusations around like confetti."

"But you're family," Alucier said. When everyone paused to ponder what really went on in the Maerzen family, he hastened to explain himself. "I just mean your dealings with each other are bound to be more emotional. It's expected you'd say things you don't mean, things that can be forgiven and forgotten. Eries' relationship with Meiden is purely political. She needs to watch what she says and how she says it. If she doesn't-"

"But I will. Don't you trust me to be able to take care of myself?"

Alucier had been Eries' guard for so long, it had become instinct to protect her. Perhaps the instinct also included the urge to overprotect her. Objectively, he believed Eries capable of pulling this off. Subjectively, he didn't want her to even try.

"I know you can," he said softly, "but we just don't know enough about what's going on for you to risk it. At best, somebody's going out of their way to make Meiden look guilty. Meiden Fassa – the most powerful merchant in Asturia and possibly the world. Meiden Fassa – a vicious schemer in his own right. If they're not afraid of him, do you think they're afraid of you? And do I need to go into the worst case scenario in which Meiden is guilty? He's already told you outright what he plans. Do you think _he's_ afraid of you?"

"No," Eries admitted, "he's not. But neither am I afraid of him. We're talking about a dinner party, Alucier. He won't try anything with Dryden sitting right there and if he tries anything after, that is why Allen is by my side."

It was a cheap ploy, banking on her faith in him to get him to put more faith in her. Effectiveness however doesn't always rely on the quality of the effort. Allen relented, albeit with some qualifications.

"You have to make sure Dryden will be there. He'll keep Meiden in line."

Eries nodded. Recruiting Dryden would be the first step.

"And you have to promise me you'll keep your words vague. You're just trying to get a sense of what Meiden is up to, not a confession."

She nodded again while suppressing an urge to roll her eyes. She knew how to handle this. Allen's protectiveness was sweet, but unnecessary.

Alucier, on the other end of the spectrum, couldn't believe Allen was agreeing to this. Where was the guy who half-joked about keeping a girl in a birdcage so he could better look after her? The guy in front of him was flinging the cage door wide open and handing out flight plans to the rough neighborhoods. "Allen…" he started.

But Marqesita wasn't going to let him go any further. "You're dead set against this, I know. But you have to trust us. We know what we're doing. We know who we're dealing with. Allen understands. I can tell he doesn't like it, but he understands. Why can't you?"

"I do understand," Alucier answered. "But if anything goes wrong, if you inadvertently tip off the wrong people…I already screwed up with Tellot. Like hell I want to make the same mistake with either of you."

"This again," Marqesita sighed. "Let me spell this out for the final time. You didn't screw up with Tellot. We, as in us Egzardians, screwed up. You were only responsible for him while he was on palace grounds. Our guards were to take over after that and they didn't. Their fault, not yours. And if Eries and I step over the line, that will be our fault. We're big girls. We know the risks. We'll take the responsibility."

Alucier made a last, desperate plea to Allen for backup, but didn't get any. "If Eries says she can do this, I believe she can do this."

The two princesses were done with the discussion after that. They had a dinner party to plan, after all. They weren't even listening as Alucier vented his frustrations on his fellow Caeli.

"I can't believe you're letting her do this."

"It's Eries, Alucier. I'm not sure I can 'let' her do anything. Believe me, I'm as anxious as you, but if I put my foot down-"

"She'd just kick you in the shin."

Allen smiled. "Definitely." There was more than a bit of admiration in his voice.

A thought occurred to Alucier then, a thought that opened up a whole other set of problems he couldn't deal with right now. _You are so whipped._

Revius had been hinting around it this morning. Marqesita had all but spelled it out when relaying the tale of the storeroom. But Alucier wasn't going to say a thing. There were only so many crises he could deal with in a day.

So he simply smiled along and prayed Allen's faith would be rewarded. He needed, desperately wanted, this mystery to be solved and no longer for the sake of his career. He had a black feeling that more important fates were hanging in the balance.

* * *

Next up: Can't put anything past our gal, can you? (The answer: yes, you can).

Acrobat. Eries carefully dances around Meiden to get what she thinks is the truth. Conspirators spin and twirl the evidence. And I juggle way too many story lines in one chapter.


	22. Acrobat Part A

Intrigues of a Princess

XXI: Acrobat – Part A

A typical man, when awoken late at night only to be confronted with a plan to stage a dinner party for the purpose of ensnaring his father for a wrongdoing, might become horrified at the notion of partaking in such a familial betrayal. He might deny such a plan is necessary, insist upon his father's innocence. Or he might guess at his father's guilt in the dark corners of his mind yet balk at becoming the instrument by which to prove it.

Dryden Fassa shrugged his shoulders and asked, "What time? And is this going to be some kind of formal thing? I haven't gotten around to unpacking those robes yet."

Eries and Allen had gone to his quarters, located close to the office he'd used as Prince Regent and far from the parts of the palace Millerna usually occupied, directly after the meeting with Marqesita and Alucier. Eries hadn't bothered with much of a preamble. She'd told him how he could help and bluntly asked if she could rely on him.

To his credit as a good, loyal son, Eries had been somewhat vague on the details of what the wrongdoing they'd be investigating was. More honestly, she'd been completely obscure, muttering that she thought Meiden was up to something but not going so far as detailing what that something was.

Blurting out 'I think your father tried to have Tellot e' Egzard killed' seemed too melodramatic. Counterproductive too if it would have caused Dryden to revert to typical man behavior. Dryden's characteristic untypical behavior was what was required. At the dinner, political games with all their twists of words and mental tricks would be unraveling with the density of a warm winter morning's fog. Eries was counting on Dryden to be able to see through all that crap to get an accurate read of his father.

In demonstration of this very skill, Dryden turned from contemplating what he'd be wearing to asking for the details Eries had omitted. "Just so we're on the same page, what exactly do you think he's up to? If you're going after my help, it's got to more than his standard maneuvering. Something big, real big, I'd think."

"Well…" Eries glanced at Allen, who mimicked Dryden's earlier shrug. This was not his area of expertise. This was Eries' baby and she'd have to be the one to deal with the messes. "As I told you before, I think he's involved in some kind of conspiracy. There was a recent event that has all the signs of being perpetrated by that sort of conspiracy."

"The assassination attempt?" Dryden guessed. He was right but he didn't believe it. "That's not my old man's style. He's a bastard all right, but he just steals you blind. He doesn't kill anybody off."

"He once hired gekkos to kidnap Hitomi Kanzaki," Eries countered.

Allen contributed too. "When Van first arrived in Asturia, the guymelef fight your father arranged was extremely unfair. A lesser skilled man would have been killed and I assure you, the vast majority of men are lesser skilled than Van."

Dryden took this new information in. The first conclusion that he drew was that he really should have talked more to Allen and Van when they were traveling to Atlantis. The second was that his opinion hadn't really changed. "It still doesn't seem like him. I've seen him run other merchants into poverty and laugh the whole time, but he's never literally tried to kill the competition."

_Not that you know of, _his inner voice chimed in cynically. _You really think he's shown you every trick up his sleeve?_

Dryden summoned a second voice to tell the first to shut up, which, ultimately, proved futile as Eries was more vocal than both voices put together.

"You're talking about competition with fellow merchants. The players and the stakes here are on a much grander scale."

"Yeah, but…" Dryden didn't know how to counter her. He didn't know why he felt like he had to in the first place. He'd been perfectly willing to go along with Eries when he thought they were talking about your everyday political backstabbing. A literal stabbing shouldn't be that unthinkable. Yet it was. Maybe he held out some hope for his father after all.

Eries had no faith. She was, however, willing to be fair, especially if it meant convincing Dryden that much faster. "To be honest, Dryden, we're not sure if Meiden is guilty of anything. There's evidence to suggest he is, but the reliability of said evidence isn't the best."

"Okay, I get it. This whole dinner thing is basically you throwing out a net and seeing what you can catch. You think I've got a better sense of where to chuck the net."

Eries was sure there was a more elegant metaphor that could be used, but it wouldn't be any more accurate. "Yes, that's it."

And it was _mostly_ it. She wanted Dryden there as a form of protection as well but that would be going back into details again and Dryden had been more responsive when things weren't so spelled out.

"I still think you're off," Dryden said but he promised hadn't changed his mind. This would be a good chance to figure out what was going on for himself. More than who was right and who was wrong, finding the truth was all any of them were after.

0-0-0-0

Finding the truth often proves to be an elusive task. 'Frustrating' was more how Alucier would describe it. He'd been sitting in the bar he and Revius had visited earlier today for an hour with nothing to show for it but a bad case of heartburn. With closing time approaching, it wasn't likely that would change.

_Best soup you ever had, my ass_, he thought, reaching for the worn strip of cloth that passed for a napkin to cover his mouth as his stomach again protested against the consumption of the soup. He didn't know why he was bothering with manners. The few people left in the bar didn't care about anybody else's sensibilities. It looked strange for him to do it.

He wasn't really trying to camouflage himself though. Alucier wanted attention or else he wouldn't have changed back into his uniform. The Caeli regalia sent a message to the occupants of the bar: he was here on serious business. That it allowed him to carry a nice, sharp sword by his side without anyone saying a word was a bonus.

"Another soup for you, Sir Knight?" a new barmaid asked. She'd replaced the other who'd already left for the night. This barmaid wasn't normally a devout practitioner of the art of customer service but her normal customers never had much money either. Sucking up to this one fancy knight could get easily net her more in tips than all of her other tables combined.

"No," Alucier answered quickly. He wouldn't make that mistake again.

The barmaid was disappointed. A bigger tab meant bigger tip. She tried to ply him with the bar's pricier drinks.

He didn't bite. "I'll pass. I'm really just here looking for somebody."

The barmaid perked up immediately. Information cost more than a bottle of liquor anyway. "I have a great memory. Come in here once and I'll never forget you. Just tell me what he looks like."

He'd been through this before with the first barmaid, but unlike the soup, it didn't hurt to try this twice. Alucier described the informant down to the shoes he was wearing. The barmaid knew immediately who he was talking about. She had little trouble guessing why a Caeli would be after him too.

She set her tray on the table and took the seat next to Alucier so she could share this knowledge more freely. "You're looking for Vint. Real piece of work, he is. Tips like crap even though he's not shy about flaunting how much money he's got."

"Bit of a braggart?"

"Bit of a bastard. He never says what he does to get his money, but he always smells like the docks, you know, all salty and musty from the damp. Not many job opportunities down there if you know what I mean."

That backed up Alucier's theory as to why the informant was so eager to be of assistance. It didn't do anything to confirm whether he was telling the truth or not. The waitress couldn't tell him that either. But if she could tell him where to find their friend, Vint, eating that horrid soup would be worth it.

"You think he's down there now?" he asked.

"Could be. He's a hard one to track. He's always coming in here at different times. Wish he was more regular so I could arrange not to have to serve him."

"That bad, huh?"

To make up for it, Alucier paid with a coin that would have purchased his meal some twenty times over. The waitress was most grateful for the gesture, offering to keep an eye out for Vint or anybody else he might want to find. She even proposed to spy on anyone suspicious and relay her findings to Alucier on a regular basis.

He passed and left before she could make another pitch. Back at the till, the barmaid tallied up her earnings and pondered if anyone else would be interested in that kind of arrangement. Barmaids got to overhear lots of good conversations and nobody ever questioned them because hanging around the table was their job.

She remembered one such interesting conversation that had taken place last week. She sprinted towards the door, hoping to catch Alucier before he got too far away but no such luck. There was no sign of any Caeli in the neighborhood.

_Damn_, she cursed to herself, _he probably would have paid me extra for telling him about Vint meeting with that foreign guy and that weasel-looking guy in the funny robes._

0-0-0-0

Once more in the palace hallways leading to the kitchen, a Cesarian and a Basramian met up. Neither was in pursuit of food. The Cesarian preferred the native foodstuffs he had up in his quarters. The Basramian didn't have the appetite for it.

The Basramian didn't have the appetite for a lot of things. "Did you speak with your…associate?" he asked nervously.

"He just reported to me," the Cesarian replied in a bored whisper. "He spoke to the Caeli, sent them down to the docks."

"Are you sure they went there?"

"No, you fool. After getting the best lead they could possibly get, they came back to the palace for tea and cakes."

The Basramian bristled. He didn't like having to count on people doing exactly as they were expected to do with very little guidance. He disliked being scorned for holding such a cautious stance even more. "How can you be certain they'll even believe that worm? And even if they do fall for it, how can you be certain they'll find Fassa's man? That they'll automatically assume Fassa's guilty?"

The Cesarian dismissed his concern with an impatient sigh. "Do you really believe that's all I've set in place? I chose our little friend Vint for a reason."

The Basramian added being kept in the dark to his list of dislikes. "Care to explain what that reason is?"

He didn't care at all. It was a nice change of pace to be able to brag about his plans instead of having to hide them. "I chose Vint because Meiden Fassa chose him first."

"What?"

"When we first started this plan, before we decided to seek a different third partner and change it altogether, Fassa offered up Vint as an assistant. He apparently worked on some smuggling operation Fassa has going, arranging shipments, forging the necessary papers."

"So you turned him against Fassa…"

"Without him knowing of course. Took more money than I thought – I'll give the bastard credit for paying for good help – but I was able to convince him. So not only will he be pointing those Caeli in the wrong direction, he'll also be supplying some rather helpful documents for us."

"How helpful?"

"Let's just say," the Cesarian grinned, "that everything the Caeli could possibly need is going to be spelled out in full detail in Meiden Fassa's own hand."

0-0-0-0

The plan had originally been for Revius to revisit the tavern to look for the informant while Alucier traveled to the docks to find Revius' old traveling pal. It made the most sense. They wanted to be recognized at the tavern. They wanted to avoid being recognized at all costs at the docks. Revius had been all set to go too when he received a reminder of a small, trifling task: guarding the life of Princess Millerna.

The replacement guard's shift had been up and he wasn't in shape to pull a double. Technically, it would have been a triple shift as Revius had approached the guard during his early morning shift with a deal to extend his hours in trade for a more prestigious assignment than hanging around the stables and inhaling the fragrant scent of horses. That had worked easily enough but Revius knew not to push it. The guard yawned repeatedly through his report on the exciting day he'd spent listening to the princess yak to the king about medicine, the summit, medicine, the weather, medicine… Revius couldn't tell if the yawning was due to boredom or fatigue.

He was about to find out for himself. Alucier had decided to take both assignments – tavern and docks – while Revius worked on his babysitting skills. He thought of trying to trade with Seclas for Van Fanel but then remembered his encounters with the catgirl that always followed the young king around. If he was to get scratched up by a girl, Revius wanted it to be from doing something worthwhile.

He knew better than to even joke about trading with Allen.

So off he went to the king's quarters, to pick up his charge to escort her back to her room for the night. It was the first time ever he wasn't looking forward to doing that with a woman.

He arrived well past the princess' bedtime. Figuring it would be very rude to burst in and possibly interrupt a royal conversation, he postponed his duty for a few minutes by listening at the door. The guard stationed at the hall had no choice but to look quizzically at Revius then let the eavesdropping occur. Revius was his superior and more importantly, the person in charge of giving him his assignments. The stables _were not_ the worst assignment in the palace.

_- so irresponsible. How hard is it to show up on time?_

_Don't worry, Father. I'm sure the replacement guard will be here soon. It isn't like a Caeli to shirk his duty._

After a long pause_, you have met the Caeli in question, haven't you? He could give Schezar a run for his money in the irresponsibility department._

Revius thought that was completely unfair. He did a good job as captain of the palace guard! And he'd be able to remind King Aston of that if he wasn't currently skulking outside his quarters listening in on a private conversation with his daughter. Some people were so judgmental…

_Perhaps he's busy with Dryden. If that's the case, I should return to my quarters on my own. It'll be perfectly safe; there are plenty of guards stationed along the way._

_There were lots of people standing around that Egzardian ox when he was stabbed. Forget it, Millerna. You are not going anywhere without an escort._

_And I just so happen to be assigned the same escort as Dryden? Really, Father, I thought you were more subtle than that._

_I'm old and sick, Millerna. I haven't the patience for subtlety. Is it really that offensive to you to be in your husband's company?_

_No, it's not that. We did travel together for a long time on the Crusade, if you remember._

_Then what is it?_

_It's…I haven't even seen him since his return. I don't know what he expects from me. He pledged to be worthy of me before he left… I'm afraid he might…that he thinks we can…_

_You're afraid that he might want you to be husband and wife as if he never left. Which is what you would be if he hadn't decided to leave in deference to your feelings. So now after spending time abroad to better himself, you're afraid he's returned as a selfish pig who wants his little woman to service his every whim._

Revius had always wondered where Eries got her sense of humor from. He'd never suspected it was the king. He found a new form of admiration for his liege.

Her father's statement surprised Millerna as well – though she was flummoxed instead of impressed.

_No, Father! I know he's not like that…but…I still think…oh, I don't know what to think!_

_Precisely, my girl, you don't know what to think and by hiding from Dryden, you're never going to learn. Spend some time with him. Open your mind and maybe your heart will follow._

_I…._

Millerna must have been seriously considering what Aston said because Revius couldn't hear anything more through the door. Bored with the lull, he knocked and announced his presence.

_About damned time. _That comment from Aston was fully audible.

Revius entered regardless and went into pleasant and professional mode. Bowing was the first step. The next was the obsequious dialogue. "Good evening, your highnesses. I apologize for my tardiness and offer you my services."

Millerna eyed him suspiciously. Her knowledge of Revius precluded him from making such gestures. Aston just snorted at him to get going.

There was one final bit of business to be resolved. Before she left, Millerna pledged to follow her father's advice.

She didn't specify when she'd start following it though.

0-0-0-0

There'd been talk of suspending the summit after Tellot's stabbing. The idea had been dismissed quickly as the delegates thought it would give the appearance of being cowed by a lowly assassin. After the day off, the summit resumed as normal, barring an empty seat at Egzardia's table and the ring of guards standing at attention around the Great Hall's perimeter.

Nothing much was accomplished. Bickering couldn't be blamed; hardly any words were exchanged at all. This decrease in hostility was a welcome change but it was also a double-edged sword – you can't form any kind of consensus if nobody will speak up to say what his opinion is.

Meiden, frustrated with the lack of progress, called the summit closed for the day when they broke for lunch. Nothing was going to get done in this atmosphere. Public perception be damned, the delegates needed some extra time to regroup.

Eries actually agreed with the decision and commented to Meiden it was one of the few prudent things she'd seen him do.

"Just one? As I thought," he retorted, "you aren't paying enough attention."

"Much as I wish I could, Meiden, I can't afford to ignore you."

"That you can't, Princess. That you can't."

_Smug little weasel. _She'd have to limit her outbursts; it would seem odd to be yelling at him one moment then suggesting they meet privately the next. She sighed deeply instead, acting as if what she was about to suggest was a loathsome chore akin to scrubbing out privies. Which, in a metaphorical sense, it was. "We haven't been keeping up with each other. I think we need to meet to review our strategy. _It's important that we be on the same page_."

Meiden chuckled at the emphasis she'd placed on her last sentence. He wanted to be on the same page too, but he had a whole other book in mind. "Of course, of course. Perhaps you can join Dryden and me at dinner tonight. He asked me if he could be involved with the summit more this morning. Having the three of us together would be an opportune time to catch him up."

"Dryden asked you if he could be more involved this morning? I find that surprising." Truthfully, she did. Dryden had said he'd approach Meiden with the proposal as soon as she and Allen left his quarters last night.

"I have a feeling that won't be the only thing that will surprise you."

Eries flashed him a patronizing smile. _Likewise, Meiden, likewise._

0-0-0-0-0

Alucier couldn't wait to leave the Great Hall. His foray down to the docks after speaking with the barmaid had proved futile in finding both Vint and Meiden Fassa's man. It had been too late when he'd gotten there he rationalized. Never mind that the people he was seeking weren't 'early to bed, early to rise' types. He was eager to take another, hopefully more fruitful trip. The break for the day at lunch was a deeply appreciated boon.

He barely took the time to wave to Marqesita and Eries (and he only got the both of them because their tables were so close together) before heading off to the guard station. He'd thought he was going to busy with the summit all day so he'd taken the step of giving to a few spare guards descriptions of the two men he was looking for and orders to hang around the docks looking for them. The first shift should be reporting in shortly. He'd be able to go out with the second shift.

_Just a few more hours_, he told himself. In a few more hours, he might have this mystery solved. He didn't dwell on the fact that that was more or less what he'd been telling himself since getting the tip from Vint the Informant.

This time, he was sure something was going to happen.

0-0-0-0

While Alucier plotted, Revius plodded after Millerna. He supposed she wasn't bad as far as your average princess went. It wasn't her fault he was more used to Eries, whom had been called many things but never average.

And Millerna was his superior, duly owed all the respect her station accorded her, blah, blah, blah…

None of this stopped Revius from mimicking her from behind her back, but it did make him feel a teensy bit guilty for it.

His conscious became more at ease as, for what had to be the billionth time that day, Millerna went to the medical ward to consult with the doctors there. It was at least a change of venue from when she consulted them outside of her father's room and then inside of her father's room but different scenery couldn't stop the mind crushing boredom from setting in. They seemed to use the same jargon over and over and name dropped patients of weird diseases gone by as if they were in a contest to see which one could be the most tedious person in existence.

It was close contest, which had the ironic effect of making it even less exciting.

Worse still, as a good, upstanding Caeli, Revius couldn't so much as yawn let alone doze off a little. He had to actively suppress it which meant preoccupy himself with something that wasn't as staggeringly dull. The only thing that he could come up with, however, was the yet to be solved problem of guarding Millerna and her dear husband together. He'd made do so far with substitute guards but with Alucier siphoning off guards for his project, Revius was coming to the point where he'd either had to be in two places at once or the more unlikely alternative of getting Millerna and Dryden to grow up and make nice.

_Maybe Dryden could dress up as a doctor and blather boring nothings in her ear, _he mused. It could not be that hard to hold the princess' interest when talks like this kept her rapt with attention. He wondered idly how receptive Dryden would be to dating advice.

Millerna wasn't going to take any that was for sure. Her current method of dealing with Revius basically amounted to pretending he wasn't there. He actually wasn't there at all when she left the medical room while he was still daydreaming about how appreciative a rich merchant might be towards someone who instructed him on how to get his dream girl.

To his credit, Revius did notice she was gone before she reached the hall outside the medical ward. "Wait, your majesty! I can't let you leave unsupervised!"

She reluctantly obeyed. She wasn't fond of these new arrangements with the guards. Eries had put up with it for years, having the same guard follow her around, but he'd given her sister much more room and the two of them were friends. Millerna wasn't sure how friendly she wanted to be with Revius.

One thing she did know about him was that he didn't enjoy his job any more than she did. That was something to work with. "You don't need to be with me all the time. Why don't you take a break?"

"Knights do not take breaks." This particular knight had taken many breaks over the years but they were all taken at times when royalty was not watching. "You're not trying to be rid of me, are you?"

"No, of course not," she said, bringing the total of lies told this conversation up to two.

Millerna's was the less believable of those two, amateurish by Revius' standards. "Would you like to trade for the guard I've got on Dryden now? It would involve getting within a ten foot radius of Dryden but I would go away."

"Don't be ridiculous!" Millerna wasn't so off-put by Revius that she was desperate to send him away. It was the constant supervision she wanted to put an end to. Swapping Revius for another guard wouldn't change anything. Plus, she was leery of getting in that ten foot radius.

"Hmm," Revius murmured. "So either you don't think I'm as bad as I think you think or you think Dryden's worse than I think you think."

"I don't think either of you are that bad!"

It wasn't quite lie number three. It definitely wasn't ultimate truth number one.

"Okay, I don't think I'm all that bad either but some people tend to misunderstand me."

"Some people?"

"Some people, usually of the snooty persuasion."

"Is that what you think of me?"

"No, Princess," Revius said quickly. He'd been easing up on the formality with Millerna and need to make up for it. "You have but the kindest nature to those around you."

There were no qualms over whether this was a lie. Millerna doubted he'd be able to top it. "I've been ignoring you and deliberately walking away while you're distracted."

"I shouldn't get distracted. That's my fault."

"So you don't think I've been rude to you."

"You've treated me exactly as I deserve to be treated."

"Well, good…" It was a relief, however minor. Millerna did like being thought of as unfair or unkind.

Relief was a fleeting fancy; Revius wasn't finished. "If I may speak freely?"

"Go ahead."

"Well, and I say this as a knight who is concerned with the well-being of my lieges – all of them, but you…"

"But I what?"

He let her have it. "You're not exactly being the nicest person in the world to Dryden."

Where had that come from? Millerna blushed in both embarrassment and anger and demanded that Revius explain himself.

"Look, I don't really know him that much, but I was the one who fetched him from Plesta. Bet if you knew that you would have been rude to me. Anyway, the main reason he didn't want to come back was because he was afraid of how much it might put pressure on you. He was actually scared to come back because of that."

"He was?"

"Yeah, he was a real pus–" Revius stopped himself. He was used to speaking his mind whenever, wherever and to whomever he felt like in a manner of his choosing. But everyone had limits and he felt like he was pushing Millerna's. Pushing them further, anyway. He probably shouldn't have brought Dryden into the conversation to begin with and didn't know why he had. "He was, uh, real concerned about you."

Millerna took in the amended assessment of Dryden's state. He was worrying as much as she was. There, that was one thing they had in common should she ever quit hiding and go to finally discuss things with him.

She wasn't quite ready to go just yet but she was willing to receive a little coaxing. "What else did he say about me?"

"Typical man in love stuff: her happiness means more than mine, doesn't want to pressure her, my heart and spine melt when I see her, et cetera."

It wasn't exactly a sonnet but it nonetheless struck a chord within Millerna. Her father had been right about Dryden. There was a small, barely perceptible part of her that acknowledged that maybe there was an equally small chance he could be right about her and Dryden together. She mostly still believed he was wrong but as long as she kept avoiding Dryden, she'd never be able to prove that to anybody.

"What are your arrangements for guarding Dryden?" she asked hesitantly.

"I've got another guard on him until mid-afternoon, at which point I either have to pull a new guard out of my…I mean out of nowhere to guard either you or him."

"And if you were to guard us both as were your original orders?"

Revius perked up. That would solve his logistics problem. It was also potentially a nice bit of matchmaking that would score him points with people who counted. He vowed never to refer to Millerna as 'Her Pinkness' again, not unless the outfit was really, really, egregiously pink (which did leave room for several opportunities).

But he had to be a gentleman about this. "I would do that only if that is what you desire, Princess."

"Well," she sighed. "It's not so much what I desire as what I know I have to do so I might as well get it over with."

Revius could relate. It was an accurate summation of his work ethic after all. "I believe he's in his office. Might as well get started now, right?"

"Right," Millerna repeated. It was some time before her body moved to comply with her decision.

Revius waited patiently. No matter how this worked out, there was no way the rest of the day was going to be as boring as the morning.

0-0-0-0

Dryden's office, like most of the Royalty Only rooms of the palace, was quite spacious. One entered through double doors into mostly empty space headed by a large desk located all the way at the end of the room in front of the windows. Those windows provided a gorgeous view of Palas' most elite neighborhood and the well-maintained canals that ran through it.

It was an excellent place to kick back and relax in peace. It still should be, even with three other people in it. But with those three other people being a Knight Caeli guarding your door and two princesses dreaming up what was likely to be the most awkward dinner party of the entire year if not decade, Dryden found that he was missing his privacy.

Things went from mildly annoying to worse as Allen motioned for Eries and Marqesita to quiet down.

"What's the problem?" Marqesita asked.

A knock on the door followed by Meiden's voice asking for Dryden answered.

Allen walked quickly towards the windows, explaining he'd overheard Meiden speaking with one of his assistants in the hall. If he could hear Meiden, it wasn't too unlikely Meiden would be able to hear them.

Marqesita pushed their luck by telling Allen, "You hear a monster prowling around outside and you just let him in? What kind of guard are you?"

It was actually Dryden's call to let his father in or not. Figuring 'not' would look fishy, he called for Meiden to enter.

"Oh, I see you have company. How nice," Meiden said, not unpleasantly but also not sincerely.

Eries didn't see any reason to be insincere herself. The truth, albeit in edited form, would serve. "I just stopped by to tell him I'd be joining the two of you for dinner tonight."

"And I see you brought your Egzardian friend along too." Meiden bowed slightly in deference. "Will you be joining us for dinner as well?"

Marqesita shrugged and said it sounded better than eating alone in her quarters.

"Alone, Princess?" Meiden asked. "With as much time as you spend with Princess Eries, I can't imagine you spending too many hours alone."

"Princess Marqesita is also under my protection," Allen stated. He wasn't going to give Meiden an opportunity to infer anything one way or the other in regard to the princess' presence at tonight's dinner. "In order to aid me in my duties, both she and Princess Eries have been gracious enough to agree to spend much of their time together."

"Heh," Meiden laughed appreciatively, "you always were good at getting women to do what you wanted. Wouldn't you agree, Princess Eries?"

Her lips twitched into a not-quite-a-sneer. She laughed as dryly as a desert and changed the subject, telling Dryden she'd see him later. To Meiden, that was as close as a 'yes' that he would ever get from her.

Dryden said he couldn't wait for this evening; it would be a great learning experience about Asturian politics. Truthfully, Dryden knew everything he cared to know about those politics. Namely, the fact that he didn't want to know anything more about them. He also knew that he couldn't avoid dealing with them. Marrying a princess tended to have the effect of dragging a person right into the middle of the political mess. Now his wife, he could avoid her. Politics, however, were as inescapable as death and even more depressing.

But even Millerna wasn't as inescapable as Dryden thought. A second knock on the door left ajar by Meiden made everyone aware there was still more company to be had.

"Did I come at a bad time?" Millerna asked.

Each person in the room had a different answer for that. For Meiden, any time Millerna wanted to see Dryden was a good time. Eries would say any time except for this exact moment. Allen and Dryden counted most times as a bad time for reasons that mirrored each other: two pseudo-romances that never were in common – one wishing it never had been and the other fervently hoping it could still be.

The only two in complete agreement were Marqesita and Revius. They were both wondering how long this would take.

Meiden offered his opinion first. "Of course not, my dear. You're always welcome wherever my son is concerned."

This too was Dryden's call. He did not make this one as readily as letting his father in. He mumbled something that could loosely interpreted as 'I am extremely uncomfortable' regardless of the words he actually said.

Millerna, familiar with the language of doubt, was a keen translator. "I should come back later. You're obviously in the middle of something and I don't want to interrupt."

She wasn't going to leave without Meiden putting up a fight. His weapon of choice was that obsequious flattery that drove Eries up a wall. She recognized how empty it truly was. For some reason, there were other people either played along with it or bought into entirely. She hoped Millerna was not in that group.

"Really, Princess, it's nothing so important as to send you away. Please stay."

Millerna glanced about the room. Meiden was begging her to stay. Eries was grimacing as if she'd bitten into a piece of rotten fruit. Dryden looked as if he wanted to swallow a large gulp of water but had forgotten how. Allen, she couldn't read at all.

"Um, I think I'll go. Thank you all the same, Meiden."

He had one last attack to make and it was a big one. Even he couldn't have known how devastating it was. "If you must, Princess, but perhaps you could do us the honor of joining us for dinner later this evening? That's all we were discussing anyway…"

"Oh, dinner? That sounds-" Millerna took another survey of the room. Eries had gone all the way through her piece of rotten fruit and chipped a tooth on the pit. Dryden was now choking on that water. "-That sounds as if I'd be interrupting again. You're probably going to be talking summit business and that sort of thing."

"Nonsense," Meiden quickly replied. "It's simply going to be a quaint dinner between associates. If we do get into politics, you are a princess. Surely you have some input of your own on how our country should proceed? Your sister here certainly is quite vocal with her opinions."

Eries had to feign pleasantness now too as Meiden turned to her. Revius was kind enough to pick up the bitter face-making behind Meiden's back. Unfortunately he went too far and Marqesita wasn't able to stifle a small laugh in time.

"Oh, sorry. Had to cough there," she covered badly.

It did provide a distraction so that Millerna could scoot closer to the door and away to freedom while giving Eries time to think of something to say that would get Meiden to allow her to leave without complaining.

"My sister is every bit as opinionated as I, Meiden. The only difference is the tedium of politics puts her to sleep rather instead of encouraging her to put those opinions to voice. I wouldn't dream of subjecting her to an entire evening of listening to summit business, especially when I'm already familiar with her stances and can do the voicing for her."

"Thank you, sister. I'd be grateful if you would."

Millerna hadn't taken two steps when Meiden found a reason to complain anyway. "Wouldn't you rather speak for yourself, Princess? If I may be so blunt, you and your sister have not seen eye to eye on many things."

"That's in the past, Meiden," Eries said curtly. "We've gone beyond all that nonsense."

"I'm sure you have, but I would hate for a cause dear to Princess Millerna to be slighted simply because it's not one of your priorities."

Eries couldn't believe the nerve of Meiden. The man wanted Asturia (that is himself in the guise of representing Asturia) to speak for the whole world. And yet here he was pretending to care about one voice going unheard. She would not make the bad fruit face though. She would not let him know how annoyed she was getting. "There's no cause to worry, Meiden. Millerna trusts me. I suggest you do the same."

Then Meiden did something strange, or stranger than usual. "Princess, if I could have a word with you in private?" He extended his hand to the far rear corner of Dryden's office and gave Eries a pleading look that threw her off so much she started walking towards the corner without realizing it.

Everyone watched them go in equal confusion. Though they tried as hard as they could, none of them could overhear the whispered conversation that took place.

"Is there a reason why you're objecting to my son and your sister spending time together? We're talking about one meal, Princess. It isn't much but it's a start. And don't tell me you don't want to see them starting something."

Eries gaped. She'd seen false sincerity from Meiden in all the forms he delivered it in, but if this was a new one, it was his best yet because she truly believed all the man wanted was a chance to play matchmaker. And he kept getting nicer…

"Think of it. All of our political talk will bore the both of them senseless. They'll turn to each other just to escape it."

How was she going to object to this? _I'm sorry, Meiden, but I was planning on using your son as a spy against you so he's going to be otherwise occupied._ The sad truth was if Eries didn't already have another ulterior motive for this dinner, she would have jumped at the chance to get Millerna and Dryden together in a neutral setting.

_But this setting isn't going to be neutral. It's going to be as combative as it could be. The sparks in the air will not be kindling any romantic fires._

"So," Meiden prompted, "will you stop fighting me just this once? We have the same goals here."

She'd heard that before. This time, it was actually true. All the times it had been false however, made her calculated choice much easier to make.

"Of course, Meiden. Millerna can come." _And once she's there, you're going to be so distracted making plans for your daughter-in-law your focus won't be on me and my silly questions._

"Good, it's all settled then. Princess Millerna, your sister and I would be most honored if you joined us," Meiden announced to a surprised room. So surprised, Dryden and Allen exchanged befuddled looks in the futile hope that one of them knew what was going on.

_I know what I'm doing_, Eries thought. She was balancing conspiring with a foreign princess to dig information out of an extremely shrewd man and her political rival as to whether or not he'd ordered an assassination attempt with getting her sister back together with her estranged husband while the man her sister used to have a crush on (and whom Eries herself was currently involved with) sat a seat or two away. People did stuff like that all the time.

_I have no idea what I'm doing._

0-0-0-0

Minor problems had habits of multiplying until they fused into a giant, all-encompassing problem that wouldn't go away. Nuri en Freid was doing his part to aid in this phenomenon by demanding a meeting with Eries.

His time of choice? The exact hour of the dinner party.

"I can't, Nuri," Eries told him after he'd confronted her group of herself, Allen and Marqesita by the entrance to the quarters reserved for the Egzardian delegation. Against Alucier's instructions, he was out in the hallways by himself. She could well picture Sedgewick's dismay upon discovering he'd lost his charge. But if any of the delegates could handle themselves, it was Nuri. Drawn up to his full height and managing to send his deep voice booming despite keeping it below a whisper, he was a hard man to turn away.

Eries kept trying though. "I have other plans this evening, very important plans."

"More important than our agreement? Someone tried to kill a delegate, Princess. Don't you think it's important that our group address this, especially since the victim is the brother of one of our members?"

"That's sort of what we're doing tonight," Marqesita said. "So you don't have to worry." She explained what they knew and suspected of Meiden and their intentions to expand that knowledge.

"Is that so?" he asked Eries. It didn't sound like a question that wanted to be answered in the affirmative.

Lying wasn't an appealing alternative either. She told him it was so.

"Is King Fanel joining you?"

"No."

"I see. So the two of you asked for our allegiance but once we've pledged it, you're going to make all the decisions."

"It's not like that," Eries protested. She wasn't sure _how_ it wasn't like that, but really, it wasn't.

"I'm glad to hear that, Princess," Nuri said. There was no doubt that there was going to be one more guest tonight at dinner.

In case anybody was still uncertain though, Nuri made it official. "I'll see you all later this evening. Oh, and one more thing, Princess. Please tell your cooks to prepare a meatless meal for me. Today's a holy day and I'm restricted to grains and vegetables."

Eries sighed. It certainly wasn't a holy day for her.

* * *

Author's Note: Chapter looooong. Didn't have time to edit the whole thing. Expect Part B in two weeks. 


	23. Acrobat Part B

Intrigues of a Princess

XXI: Acrobat – Part B

With her cozy little dinner party adding two new guests and an extra Caeli, there were few appropriate places to hold it. Eries settled on the royal dining hall. The grandeur of the room, with its high-backed chairs and long table that could (and would) accommodate enough silver to refill a mine, gave the party a legitimacy that belied any unseemly schemes. That fact that many unseemly schemes had taken place here was irrelevant. There were appearances to keep and this dining hall was all about dignified appearances. Plus, the location ensured no more people would be drifting in to further botch up the works.

Seating was about the only thing Eries still had complete control of (it was her family's dining room, after all) and she arranged everyone efficiently. Millerna and Dryden were exiled to the end of the table closest to the windows. Meiden, on the far end, wouldn't be able to make out anything they said, but Eries knew he'd spend the night trying. That was the distraction she was counting on. She seated herself to Meiden's right with Marqesita across from her. Nuri sat between Eries and Allen, with Allen spaced close enough to his neighbor Dryden to make it appear the Prince Regent and his sort-of wife weren't off in their own little world. On the opposite side of the table from Allen was Revius. The distance between him and Millerna was more expansive than between Allen and Dryden despite all of their chairs starting out in similar positions.

The meal began with the serving of vino from the palace cellars. Eries motioned for the sommelier to go easy on her glass. Marqesita did as well. Nuri skipped out all together, leaving more in the bottle for Meiden. At the other end of the table, son matched father and took a liberal dose of the alcohol. The wine in general flowed more abundantly. Millerna sipped at it to calm her nerves, Allen to avoid having to speak and Revius because he knew this was a rare opportunity to have the really good stuff without having to pay anything for it.

"So," Millerna started slowly, wondering what a good topic of conversation would be amongst herself and the three men in all of Gaea she felt most awkward around, "lovely weather we've been having."

"Uh, yeah, great," Dryden mumbled. "Couldn't ask for better for my return."

"It was a bit chilly right before the summit began. Windy too."

"Good thing that settled down before I had to take a leviship back."

Wife and husband started at each other. The exchange wasn't four sentences old and they already felt as if they'd bled everything they could from it. The Caeli diners weren't helping. Allen had no thoughts at all on the weather and Revius' only thought was that it was too damn boring to speak of.

Revius was sure this dinner party needed his help. He'd played matchmaker before with decent results. Millerna was sitting here speaking actual words to Dryden – really banal words, sure, but her mouth was moving and sound was coming out. With some nudging, Revius bet she could even work up to a compound sentence or two.

First, he'd work on Dryden. The guy could really get rolling when talking about something he was passionate about. The trick was to find the right passionate thing. He was certainly passionate about Millerna but bringing that up would reduce Dryden's spine to gelatin and turn Millerna into a slowly retreating ice floe. He needed to ford nice, neutral ground.

"So how's your business doing, Prince Regent? Any great deals you made whilst gallivanting around Gaea?"

This was perfect. It gave Dryden room to brag and, more notably, to impress with tales of fortunes made. In Revius' experience, the only thing a merchant liked more than selling stuff was telling everybody how much stuff they sold.

Dryden took the bait. He began modestly, in deference to Millerna's presence, with stories about the ruin war had brought and the relief that the combination of quality merchandise and affordable pricing could bring. Millerna listened; this was a more appealing approach than when she first met Dryden on his ship. Zealously ticking off his assets might have sounded like a good way to boost one's image, but back then, Millerna had been so overwhelmed, she hadn't known what to think of him. His stories and his manner now were so much calmer that she actually could stop to think of him.

None of this was apparent to Meiden who leaned forward in his seat and over the table to no avail. Dryden and Millerna were simply too far away. He could only gauge from Dryden's hand gestures how things were going. Millerna had covered her mouth with her hand, denying him a chance to read her expression. Only the black-haired Caeli looked his way, flashing Meiden a toothy grin that irked the merchant. His future was playing out down there! He had a right to know how it was going.

Eries could see he was agitated and did her best to keep it that way. She and Marqesita chatted away about a possible visit Eries might pay to Egzardia after the summit was over. Eries paid no attention to the details of this bogus trip. The only important thing was the volume in which they were delivered: that is loud enough to ensure Meiden wouldn't be able to hear a clear word from the other end of the table.

Nuri obliged them, comparing famous Egzardian sights to ones in Freid. It was very clear which country he was more impressed with.

"I can tell you've only heard about the Grand Library from others," Marqesita said, "or else you wouldn't be so quick to dismiss it. Egzardia is the heart of Gaean literature, after all, and the Library reflects that."

Nuri was not going to be convinced that quickly. He and Marqesita continued the debate while Eries worked on weaving in a natural introduction to the reason why this dinner was taking place.

When she finally spoke, Meiden barely heard her. "It's good to see Marqesita out and enjoying herself."

"Emm…"

"I mean, after all that's happened it's good that she's able to join us and stop thinking about her brother for awhile."

"Brother…What?" Meiden asked after figuring out Eries was speaking to him. He'd no idea what Dryden was talking about other than it involved holding his hands up in the air. He wouldn't be missing much by talking to Eries instead.

"Her brother, Tellot, the victim of the assassination attempt. You have been paying attention to that, haven't you?"

"Rapt attention, Princess, rapt. I am running this summit. I do have to keep track of the delegates."

_Running the summit! _ Eries decided to indulge Meiden in his delusions. She'd be picking him apart soon anyway. "So you know all about it then. I'd think that would make you more sympathetic to Marqesita."

Meiden glanced at the Egzardian princess. She and Nuri were still arguing, leaving him free to be brutally honest. "She's your friend, Princess and while I do worry about the Egzardian delegation in general, I see no reason to fret over one particular member."

"Somehow I knew you weren't shedding any tears for Tellot."

"Neither were you. And neither, I would wager, was your friend."

"Hmmph," Eries muttered. Technically, Marqesita hadn't cried, but she had been really cranky. That counted for something. "I thought you were more concerned with Egzardia than that, with their politics anyway."

"I wasn't aware that Tellot e' Egzard had much bearing on politics other than being a figurehead."

"You'd much rather deal with Bennor, wouldn't you?"

Meiden smiled at the underlying implication. He had nothing to hide. "Of course I would. He's young and he's hungry. That makes him easy to manipulate. If he was on the throne, we'd have an easier time getting our way."

"You honestly believe Bennor would be easier to manipulate than Tellot?" Eries asked incredulously.

"No, I believe Bennor would be easier than the entirety of the Egzardian Parliament. Mark my words, if Tellot gets the throne, that's who we'd be dealing with. Ask your good friend if she thinks otherwise."

Eries already knew the answer. She'd only asked Meiden to determine if he knew it too. "You seem quick to discount Marqesita taking the throne at all."

"Naturally," Meiden chuckled. "Why would I want a dark-haired version of you wearing Egzardia's crown?"

"You think we're that alike?"

"She's got a nasty reputation true, but that's really a matter of being the flip side of the coin. Personal antics aside, you can see the political resemblances, can't you?"

_If I couldn't, I wouldn't be plotting with her, would I? _"That is part of what drew us to be friends. You know how readily common interests can bond two people."

"I'd say that's why your father and I have been friends for as long as we have."

Two seats down, Allen dutifully listened to Dryden's stories. He wasn't terribly interested in tales from the marketplace but as long as Dryden kept talking, no one else had to. That meant no awkward exchanges between him and Millerna. It meant the only thing embarrassing coming out of Revius' mouth was a little dribble of sauce.

With matters on this end going smoothly, Allen pretending to drop his napkin so he could how everything was going on the other. As he retrieved the napkin from the floor, he sneaked a glance behind Nuri's back at Eries. She'd been talking with Meiden but that had abruptly stopped as whatever he'd just said to her was obviously not in her favor. He tried reading her expression better but a kick to the leg interrupted him.

"Be more obvious, why don't you?" Revius said without moving his lips. "She can handle herself. Time to listen to the nice merchant man."

The nice merchant man was explaining what he'd been doing in Plesta before Revius had shown up. The story involved helping out in the poorer areas of town. Buying from the locals, setting up for future trade, granting loans – that sort of thing. Revius thought the story was missing an orphanage or two in the midst of rebuilding along with some sickly orphans to populate them to spice things up, but Millerna seemed genuinely impressed with what Dryden had done.

"It must have cost you a lot to help those people like that," she said.

"Hey, it was nothing compared to selling my fleet to cover guymelef repairs. Besides, every merchant knows if you treat a customer right, they'll stay your customer."

"So lower profits now mean better public relations, which means higher profits later," Revius concluded.

"I wouldn't put it so cynically," Millerna said.

Dryden would but he needn't share that with her. "Sometimes just knowing you're helping people is its own profit."

Revius mocked gagging on his vino. "I wouldn't put it so hackneyed."

"You don't believe he would help others solely because they need it?" Millerna chided him. "After Zaibach attacked us, he was out amongst the people doing what he could and he was injured at the time."

When Dryden chocked on his vino, he wasn't pretending. Whether Revius had intended it or not, he'd put Millerna on the defensive. Millerna – who had been avoiding speaking of him altogether – was now earnestly describing what a great guy he was.

In that moment, Dryden didn't care what his father had done or if he had done anything at all. This dinner party was the greatest thing that could have happened.

Eries wasn't likely to agree. She hadn't gotten very far with Meiden and Marqesita was running out of arguments with which to occupy Nuri. Egzardia only had so many tourist spots, after all. It wasn't that Eries didn't want Nuri questioning Meiden. He had that right. But Eries was always a big believer in doing things on her own, especially when she couldn't be sure what form any assistance might take. Nuri was anything but predictable.

Meiden, on the other hand, had gone back to trying to spying on the other end of the table just as Eries thought he would. "I'm sure you've been following the investigation," Eries said to him casually.

"The what?"

"The investigation into Tellot's attack. You said you were paying rapt attention."

"I've been keeping my ears open, but you're the one who's friends with the Caeli who's handling it." For some reason, this comment brought Meiden's full attention to Eries, despite him overhearing snippets of Millerna praising Dryden. "You seem to have a lot of friends tied to this incident."

Eries stared at him. "What is that supposed to mean?"

Even Marqesita and Nuri, despite being so thoroughly engaged in debating the grandeur of Egzardia's royal parks, caught the ice in Eries' voice. Marqesita had only been half-listening but Nuri knew full well what Meiden had said. He too was curious what the merchant had meant.

"You have to admit," Meiden said with a shrug, "you're very close to all of this. Your friend's brother and rival to Egzardia's throne is the victim, two of your Caeli friends just so happen to be in the neighborhood when it occurs and one of those Caeli is the one heading the investigation. Not that I would ever believe you capable of such a disgraceful act, Princess, but to an outsider, it would be easy to get the wrong impression."

Eries fumed. Meiden was about to get an impression of her fork stuck in his forehead.

"Have you been speaking to Bennor?" Marqesita asked Meiden. "Because you sound exactly like him."

"I haven't spoken to your younger brother in quite some time."

"Oh, so the conspiracy fell through or you set it up so thoroughly you could go this long without talking. Can you guess which direction I'm leaning in?"

Meiden laughed Marqesita's accusations off. He was the only one finding anything amusing. The dinner had collapsed in a matter of seconds and with Marqesita openly accusing Meiden, it wasn't going to get fixed easily.

Someone had to try though. Eries, as usual, elected herself. "Marqesita, Meiden, please, there's no need to argue. I'm sure Meiden only said what he said to warn me of how others might perceive the attack against Tellot. And Marqesita, I know your family problems have you on edge, making Meiden's comment understandably upsetting, but please consider his intentions."

Marqesita knew exactly what Meiden's intentions were but more importantly, she knew Eries' as well. She shouldn't have lashed out and though it pained her to do so, she apologized to Meiden.

"No offense taken," he said. "I should have realized how _sensitive_ you are."

That went nowhere towards lowering the odds of Eries' fork getting implanted right between his eyes. The antipathetic energy in the air crackled enough to raise the attention of the other side of the table right in the middle of Dryden actually getting to those orphans Revius had been hoping for.

"Is something wrong?" Millerna asked.

"Not at all," Eries answered. "Just some minor misunderstandings. You know how heated those can become."

_Minor misunderstandings?_ Dryden thought. He knew what this dinner was about. The only misunderstanding that he could think that would arise was Eries misunderstanding how cagey his father could be when cornered – and how quickly Meiden could sense himself being cornered. He still couldn't picture his father being guilty but he also knew the only way more misunderstandings could be avoided was if he stopped trying to impress Millerna and do what Eries had invited him here to do.

Others had more straightforward approaches. Blunt as the flat of a broadsword, Nuri spelled out precisely the misunderstandings that had taken place. "The princesses were upset because Meiden insinuated that they were somehow involved in the assassination attempt against Tellot 'e Egzard while pretending he wasn't insinuating anything in the least. Princess Marqesita then accused him of conspiring with her brother, Bennor, and Princess Eries tried to smooth tensions with her own pretense as an objective third party. At this point, Princess Marqesita offered a false apology and Meiden responded with matching insincerity.

That about sums everything up, yes?"

"Oh," Millerna said.

Dryden and Revius suppressed snickers at the frankness that not only flew in the face of political conventions, but spat in political conventions' eyes as well. Eries suppressed an urge to kick Nuri harder than she'd ever kicked anyone before. There were rules to these kinds of games – silly, convoluted rules – but rules nonetheless. You couldn't just demand someone's secrets; you had to coax them out. She wondered what Nuri would do next and was afraid he would hand Meiden a handwritten questionnaire.

_Question One: Are you involved in any conspiracies to assassinate foreign leaders? If no, skip to question two. If yes, has this conspiracy made any recent assassination attempts? _

"You're an odd one," Meiden opined. For once, every one at the table agreed with him.

Including Nuri. "I'm aware I have an unorthodox approach to politics, but I do not care to do business with those I cannot trust. I believe I am not alone in this feeling, but unfortunately, most politicians I have encountered seem to think trust is something others should extend to them, not something they must earn on their own."

"You can be trustworthy without being an open book," Marqesita said under her breath.

Eries understood where he was coming from – more than she had before. He'd been reluctant to join with them because of his distaste of conspiracies as a whole and all the justifications of serving the greater good that Eries had offered hadn't softened the blow to his honor. Perhaps he thought being straight with Meiden was a small attempt to reclaim some of it. She didn't agree with this unorthodox approach and would work against it if she thought he began revealing too much, but she could respect it.

She wasn't alone. Dryden commented with a pointed look at his father that he believed that was the best way to do business. Millerna expressed her admiration as well and wondered if it were part of the training to be a Freidian monk, considering how justly Nuri's cousin Mahad had treated them while they were in Freid.

"I've heard of your time there from Kaja," Nuri said. Turning to Allen, he added, "Mahad had a letter from Asturia stating that you had committed treason yet he let you serve beside him in battle."

Finally roused from his silence, Allen confirmed this. "It was a great honor to fight by his side. I only wish I had been better able to protect him."

Nuri watched Allen for a long moment, measuring something more than his words. Whatever he found must have met his approval. "He could have had a hundred men around him. The savagery Zaibach displayed that day would not have been appeased by anything less than Mahad's defeat. And he accepted that defeat so that those around him could carry Freid forward. We owe it to his memory to act with the same honor and integrity."

The 'we' felt more inclusive than just Freidians and those at the table were not quick to speak up when they fell so far short of the standard.

Even Meiden only made a weak attempt to change the subject. "Yes, of course, which reminds of some summit business-"

"Schezar, when you stood accused in Freid," Nuri interrupted, "Mahad gave you an opportunity to defend yourself, did he not?"

It had been more like Allen had knelt silently on the floor while Mahad read off the charges and wondered why he should even think of trusting someone like him but just as she had intervened back then, Millerna spoke up now.

"He was very fair. I think even if I hadn't pleaded Allen's case, he still would have listened."

"I believe you're correct," Nuri said. "Justice, whether it is expedient or not, is always of our utmost interest in Freid. Is it so different in Asturia?"

Proud of her country but not so naïve as to believe it infallible, Eries let the question remain rhetorical, as did every other Asturian at the table. Marqesita alone took up the inherent challenge, albeit in Egzardia's defense.

"We Egzardians pride ourselves in our justice system as well," she said, "but we acknowledge that justice isn't always served in a simple manner. I'm curious how you believe it to be best served. Any examples?"

Eries could see what she was doing. Nuri wasn't making these speeches about justice for trivia's sake. He was going somewhere with them – somewhere his fellow conspirators probably wouldn't like judging by his earlier candor. Marqesita was providing a subtle warning that matters weren't that clear cut.

Nuri didn't heed it. He plowed on without pause, changing her facetious 'any examples?' into an actual request. The problem was that request was the last thing Eries and Marqesita wanted.

""Let's discuss the assassination attempt on your brother, Princess…"

Eries headed him off. "I think we've talked enough about that tonight. This is supposed to be a pleasant dinner."

"It's supposed to be a thinly veiled interrogation." The other diners winced except for Meiden and Millerna. He only smirked while she stared at Nuri, nonplussed.

"You already knew that though, didn't you, Meiden?" Nuri continued.

"Oh, Princess Eries accuses me of so much it's hard to keep track. Though I have to admit I'm surprised she thinks me capable of such coarse methods."

_Says the man who hired Geckoes to kidnap a guest of the palace, _ Eries thought. "I haven't accused you of anything tonight," she spoke aloud.

Meiden glanced down at his plate and smiled. "We are still on the first course."

Marqesita was sending death glares to Nuri and trying to figure out what she and Eries had been thinking by recruiting him. She didn't even want to contemplate how he could make things worse because she had little doubt he'd prove her right.

That was a prediction as true as any made with tarot cards and a pendant.

"And if she had accused you," Nuri asked, "how would you have defended yourself?"

"You must be joking," Meiden said. "I don't have to answer to anything so ridiculous."

"I have been open and honest with you," Nuri said. "Why should I not expect the same from you?"

_Because he's Meiden Fassa. Because we're in Asturia and not some monastery in Freid. Because people who hire assassins won't be forced to tell the truth because you've shamed them with your grand integrity. _ Eries had more reasons to give but didn't waste her breath sharing. Nuri might be hopelessly naïve and as calculating as a broken abacus, but he was going to do things the way he wanted with or without her commentary.

Maybe he was on to something here, too. Meiden was watching him closely. He was not used to dealing with men like Nuri and it made him wary.

Wary, but not foolish. "We all have things we wish to keep private. I couldn't do business if I opened my books to everyone. I hardly think it fair to judge a man for not revealing everything."

"But if you have nothing to hide-"

"We all have something to hide," Meiden answered Nuri. Then he turned to Eries, "Wouldn't you agree, Princess?" He finished by looking further down the table, not to Nuri but the person who sat beside him.

On that, Eries was forced to agree. But Nuri wasn't talking about hidden romances or whatever merchant trade secrets Meiden pretended he was thinking of. "On something so contemptible as an attack on one of our fellow delegates, I believe we should be as open as we can be in order to find those responsible."

"Especially since we don't know if the next one might be one of us," Marqesita added. She resisted the further elaboration of _Well, you probably do, Meiden. _

"A notable concern," Meiden allowed, "but I'm afraid I can't do anything to alleviate it. You all know as much as I do about the attack on Tellot. So to answer your question, Nuri, if Princess Eries were to accuse me I would tell her I had nothing to do with it. Then she wouldn't believe me and then we'd get into one of those lovely quarrels in which we trade barbs back and forth until one of us grows sick of the other. Does that sound right to you, Princess?"

It sounded perfect until the end – Eries was always sick of Meiden. Arguing with him merely focused her nausea.

"You give your word?" Nuri asked simply.

Across from him, Marqesita mumbled to herself an estimation of exactly how much Meiden's word would be worth. He'd have to sell millions of it to scrape together a few cents.

"I give my word," Meiden said. "Princess Eries, I believe this is your cue…"

As if she would respond to his direction. Eries raised her glass of vino instead, wishing she'd never dreamt up this dinner.

Meiden, in an uncharacteristic bit of solicitousness, let it drop and resumed his meal.

Nuri was neither hungry nor so accommodating. "What evidence do you have that made you suspicious of Meiden, Princess? You did not elaborate on that."

"I'm shocked," Meiden laughed.

Eries truly was shocked. Nuri had not only derailed her attempts to get the truth from Meiden, he was now questioning her as if she was the one who was untrustworthy. With a load of hypocrisy that was hard to bear, she tried to put an end to this mess. "I don't believe this is the best place to discuss this."

Meiden laughed harder this time.

Dryden found Eries' contradiction amusing too, but he'd never say it. For one thing, speaking might startle Millerna, who had been listening to the unfolding drama with mouth agape. For another, though he believed his father innocent of these particular charges, he wasn't ready to abandon Eries' side just yet. So he decided to play a role he was good at: the Devil's Advocate. It played on his strength of loving to poke things with a stick.

"To be fair, Princess Eries did say her evidence wasn't one hundred percent reliable. But she does have evidence," he said.

This news pricked up Meiden's ears but not because Eries was supposed to be in possession of something that would incriminate him. He wasn't even that upset at Eries. He was used to her pointing her finger at him. He was not used to Dryden doing it.

He could never be used to his son betraying him so. "You've been talking to her about this? Conspiring behind your father's back? What could you she have possibly promised you?"

"She didn't promise me anything! And I'm not conspiring with her!"

"Oh? You're just serving as some kind of consultant?"

Eries had had enough of this. The evening was in ruins anyway. Any garbage added to the pile would blend right in. "Actually, yes, Meiden. That's exactly what Dryden is doing for me. He doesn't think you're guilty of planning Tellot's assassination attempt in the least but I did get him to agree to give his opinions on your reactions tonight. That's all."

It still seemed significant to Meiden. "Well, son, you must think I'm up to something or did you acquiesce to Princess Eries' request in a valiant attempt to prove my innocence?"

"Oh, please, Dad. You're going to pretend you're the victim here? Of course you're up to something. You wouldn't be you if you weren't."

That was certainly true, but Meiden had always believed that business was to be kept between you and your family. You didn't blabber it all out to a princess with a grudge. "I should have taught you better," he concluded.

"You should have taught him to turn a blind eye to bad deeds simply because his father was the one committing them?" Nuri asked. It was almost endearing how befuddled the concept made him.

Meiden only stared at him, pondering just how backwards Freid really was.

"That's how we do business," Dryden answered for him. "Protect the family above all else, unless all else happens to be the family savings."

"Dear god, Dryden, we're not that wretched."

Marqesita ignored Meiden's outburst. Dryden had said something that brought home the whole point of her being here, what was supposed to be the whole point of this dinner. "Yes, we need to protect our families, protect as in finding out who decided to try to kill one of them so they aren't able to try again."

"Even if it means accusing your own brother?" Meiden said dryly.

His sarcasm didn't deter her in the slightest. "If my brother is responsible than he has removed himself from my family. Tell me, Fassa, you're pals with Bennor. What's he up to?"

"Not this again. I already told you, your intelligence is out of date. I haven't a clue. I've already admitted to speaking to him before the summit, but he and I had so little in common, there wasn't much reason to keep talking."

That couldn't be true, Eries thought. Meiden had said he didn't want Tellot or Marqesita getting the throne. That left only one other sibling and she would bet the royal treasury that Bennor didn't disagree that he was the ideal candidate to succeed his father. With that in common, there were all sorts of things for the two men to talk about.

Marqesita was just as disbelieving but much more vocal. "Oh, please. You both want Bennor to get the throne after my father dies. You probably take turns marking off the days to the funeral on the calendar."

"I had no idea your father was that ill," Meiden said. "My sincerest best wishes for a quick and full recovery."

Even the still stupefied Millerna didn't buy that. Only someone who had taken a recent blow to the head would buy that.

Dryden was too annoyed with him to challenge him. It wasn't either Revius or Allen's place to do it. Marqesita was outright fuming. Meiden's concern was as phony as her claim that her father was still alive, but her temper had caused her to say things she shouldn't have and she was determined to keep her silence over giving Fassa a clue to the secret. Nuri was quiet as well, regarding Meiden with the same careful look he'd given Allen earlier. It didn't appear as if he was reaching the same conclusion.

That left Eries to counter Meiden and she didn't see why she should bother. The man had practically spat in the face of Nuri's request for openness and honesty. Her attempts at admonishment wouldn't meet any more success.

The rest of the dinner passed in silence, sped up by Eries' request to the head handmaiden to tell the cook to skip right to the main course and forget any desserts. Revius complained about the abrupt ending to the meal but everyone else was glad to get out of there. Millerna and Dryden surprised each other by announcing simultaneously their desire to be the first ones to leave. Unfortunately, it was less a sign of true compatibly than of them having more excuses available to them to go. Eries was technically the hostess and Marqesita had to stay with her because they both had to stay with Allen. Nuri had invited himself. As for Meiden, he saw no reason why he couldn't order a nice piece of cake from the kitchen just because no one else wanted one.

He won out in the end. If Marqesita had to watch him enjoy another bite of that cake, the remainder of that cake and a good portion of the plate were going to get rammed down Meiden throat or shoved into other body parts if she got carried away. She excused herself, followed in rapid order by Eries and Nuri. Allen followed dutifully after.

Out in the halls, Marqesita began venting some of her pent up rage. Most of it went in Nuri's direction.

"What were you thinking? He'd confess and say he was sorry? And then we'd all forgive him and join hands and sing songs?"

"I thought I would give him a chance to act honorably."

"Well, he blew that chance to hell, didn't he?"

With Marqesita in his face, ready to deliver another withering quip, Nuri only sighed and said solemnly, "Yes, he did."

Eries had to wonder how much more of an indictment that was to Nuri than any single piece of evidence could be and what that meant for their alliance. For all his talk of honest, plain speech, Nuri seemed to rely on his impressions of people a great deal. And Nuri en Freid was not a man to be wrong often.

0-0-0-0

Down at the docks, Alucier wasn't able to get any accountings of Meiden Fassa's character to judge one way or the other. The only thing he could rely on was the evidence before him.

To call it damning would be being generous.

Alucier had come down here on the barmaid's tip looking for Vint. He'd thought he'd spotted the informant and had trailed him, but once he'd turned a corner, he was nowhere to be found. He'd come across another man though and this turned out to be a bigger, much better find.

The man Revius had identified as Meiden Fassa's hired help had been there. He didn't linger for long. He, along with a small entourage of two other men, had headed quickly to the old hotel. Alucier had gone there too, only now that he knew where the back exit was, he'd gone through there instead of entering the front. It was a fruitful move, as Meiden's man was going up the stairs just as Alucier was sliding into the hotel undetected.

No one had paid him much attention as he ascended the stairs in pursuit and once he'd located the room the three men had entered, it was only an easy matter of stowing away in an empty closet where maids had stored linen years ago. With the door of the closet slightly ajar, he'd had a perfect view the door to the man's room. He saw exactly when it opened, heard every word that had been said as the three men went back down the hall.

The chatter hadn't been much but it had contained one very useful fact: nobody was coming back to that room for at least an hour. That didn't stop the room from gaining an occupant before then. Alucier was inside the second the men had disappeared down the stairs.

He knew how to search quickly. Having three older sisters, finding hidden documents (that is, highly incriminating diaries) had become almost instinctual to him. Even being caught by Damise mid-read and the pummeling that had ensued hadn't been enough to shake it out of him.

So he had searched. So he had found.

And what he had found was juicier than any recounting of a schoolgirl crush.

He was looking at itineraries that outlined exactly where Meiden's man had been right before the assassination attempt – itineraries that made it very clear that somebody was meeting with other somebodies they really shouldn't be meeting with. Meiden's name came up in a few places as well.

Alucier didn't know whether to be shocked or vindicated when he spotted Bennor's.

He gathered up the papers and any others that had the slightest potential to be incriminating. It was a load to carry, but he couldn't afford to be caught here. He couldn't afford to miss out on the tiniest shred of evidence. He wouldn't get another chance either. They'd know this room had been broken into and whatever had been left behind wouldn't stay there much longer.

Once safely back at the palace, he'd have time to read all of it anyway. Right now, he'd read enough.

Slipping back out of the hotel wasn't too difficult even with the extra weight and lumpiness of the stashed papers. Perhaps the hotel dwellers were used to minding their own business as far as Meiden's man went. Judging by what was on the papers, that was a very smart idea.

There would be more judgments coming from these papers. They would be considered smart by the people who would make them, but to the men who had produced the papers, those judgments would be considered wonderfully, delightfully and perfectly misguided.

0-0-0-0

Next Up: Drowning Man. Meiden's misdeeds catch up to him. Pity they aren't the right misdeeds.

Fic Pimpage: Sakura's been writing a fic set in my little Esca-verse that takes a much different path than "Intrigues'". It's called "Second Loves, Second Chances". Please be reading.


	24. Drowning Man

Intrigues of a Princess

XXII: Drowning Man

Over the years Meiden had occasionally regretted how he had handled a person. These regrets stemmed not from a belief that he had somehow wronged a particular person or otherwise treated them unfairly so much as he had not treated them in the most beneficial way possible. The beneficiary, of course, being himself. Meiden felt a touch of regret now as he recounted the dinner party. It wasn't towards Marqesita e' Egzard or Princess Eries though. They deserved the ridicule of false sincerity for their pathetic attempt to blame him for the failed assassination. The Egzardian he could forgive in time. She didn't know how he operated. But Princess Eries? She should have known better. Perhaps he had underestimated her ability to see the grand plan. Maybe she never would come around. Meiden was no longer sure he even wanted her to at this point.

Attempted murder right in the middle of the street. As if he would ever be that common.

It was still a puzzle who would be. Certainly his Cesarian friend was higher minded than that and while Meiden believed Bennor to be a power hungry little bastard, he was a power hungry little bastard with the sense to know his struggle would better achieve success in the Egzardian courts with lawyers, not the night streets of Palas with hired killers.

Meiden didn't trust the Basramian. His simpering lack of courage to play rough was at odds with joining men whose modus operandi consisted mostly of such strategies. It could be a mask to hide his true intentions. But as with Bennor, it didn't make much sense for the man to act alone. Basram didn't stand of chance of gaining anything from the summit on its own. It – and its delegates – needed close allies, needed to make deals.

That left Zaibach, Fanelia and Freid. General Adelphus might put on a good show of honorable warrior and all that garbage, but Zaibach had put on a false front on before. Considering Fanelia or Freid was laughable. Van Fanel would just as soon as stab himself than to take on an opponent via assassin. The Freidians were the same, only they'd blabber incessantly about honor before sticking their knives in whereas Fanel would just get it over and done with.

_Those damn monks and their honor. _That was in part what was causing Meiden's regret. Nuri en Freid was likely already in Eries' pocket but Meiden knew he had blown any slim chance he might have had to convince him to switch sides. Sarcasm and blatant insincerity weren't qualities much appreciated by those who wrapped themselves in honor like thick robes. He could picture the monk now, grievously offended on Marqesita's behalf, vowing to believe whatever scrap of evidence the two princesses could contrive because, obviously, Meiden Fassa was a bad, bad man.

But it wasn't the loss of a potential ally that truly bothered him. Nuri was only an advisor anyway; Duke Chid had the final say and Kaja was the primary holder of that boy's ear.

Dryden was bothering him. Dryden, his own son, who believed that Eries actually had this supposed evidence. Dryden, who had agreed to help her with her misguided quest to pin blame on him. Dryden, who really, _really_ should have known better.

True, Dryden said he didn't believe Meiden was responsible for the assassination attempt and Meiden took that at face value. But he was still in collusion with Eries – collusion against him!

To think, Meiden had greeted him so warmly in this very office but a few nights ago, fully expecting some resistance but secure in the knowledge that his son would stand with him.

Eries must have had a nice, long laugh about that.

Meiden wasn't going to let her laugh much longer. The summit was slowly but steadily nearing the point at which the real decisions were going to be made. He and his associates were already in agreement as to what those decisions would be. Nothing – annoying princesses and backstabbing sons included – was going to stop Meiden from casting Asturia's vote.

0-0-0-0

Alucier had made it back to Lord Ramkin's office without incident. The papers were a little worse for wear having gotten crinkled and out of order in his haste to conceal as many on his person as possible but they were still perfectly legible.

That presented problems too.

The papers confirmed Meiden's man had hired the assassin. And though it wasn't spelled out as clearly, the only logical conclusion from the dates of meetings and the notes beside them was that he had done so on Meiden's orders. Surely any magistrate reviewing the documents would find them convincing enough to convict.

To get to that point however, Meiden would have to be charged and arrested. The procedure for a common criminal was simple. Present evidence to a magistrate, get magistrate's signature on an official decree, find your criminal and then introduce him to his new small, bar-lined home where he would sit and do nothing until his trial date rolled around.

Meiden was not exactly a common criminal. Even with evidence, hauling in the king's best friend and father to the semi-acting prince regent was going to be tricky. It was not unheard of for the rich and powerful to use their money and connections to get their own brand of justice. The magistrates knew this. Some were even part of the system that allowed the abuse to continue. Knowing that, no magistrate would want to put his signature on that decree that had a huge potential to come back and bite him in the ass.

For the arrest decree to stick, it would have to be signed by someone a little higher up. Eries would qualify but that presented another problem. For the arrest decree to not look suspicious, it would have to be signed by someone a little higher up who wasn't a publicly known political rival of Meiden's.

That pretty much left King Aston as the only man who could do it.

At least Eries would come in handy there. She'd be able to get an audience on his behalf without trouble. Alucier going it alone would be waiting a long time, especially since if he were to be honest on his request for the audience, the phrase 'want to throw your childhood friend in jail' wasn't likely to be a big motivator for the king.

The only other option was Princess Millerna and Alucier considered it dishonorable to put her in such an awkward position. Technically, there was Dryden too, but that would be equally dishonorable and downright mean.

To Eries' quarters he would go then. At least she'd be pleased with what he'd found.

0-0-0-0

Pleased wasn't quite the word for it. Eries would read for a moment, look up in astonishment at what she'd just read, say nothing and then return to reading to repeat the cycle. She'd read the most heavily notated – and most heavily damaging – paper three times before she saw fit to speak.

And even then, she wasn't at her most articulate.

"I can't…this is…how could he?"

Alucier translated the first two into expressions of incredulousness: 'I can't believe this' and 'This is unbelievable'. He wasn't sure where Eries was going with the last. 'How could Meiden have done this?' seemed like an obvious question if the answer to it wasn't far more obvious. She could be using it rhetorically to work up her outrage but it wasn't as if she needed help with that either.

Allen, who happened to still be at Eries' quarters well after his shift should have ended, ventured a strange guess. He'd been reading the papers over Eries' shoulder – an act that generally annoyed the princess – and found something odd. "Why would Meiden leave such incriminating evidence where it could be found?"

"Technically," Alucier said, "he didn't. His goon did. And it wasn't exactly out in the open. I had to follow him into that old hotel, hide until he left and then grab up everything I could before he could come back. I was lucky to find this."

"Don't underestimate yourself," Eries insisted. "You were always planning to go back the hotel. Whether by sneaking in or court order, you would have gotten access to that man's office and this evidence."

She looked at the paper in her hand for a fourth time and shook her head. "According to these dates, the meeting in which Meiden and Bennor finalized their plot took place on the trip Meiden said he was talking to Cesario to set up housing for Fanelian refugees. He probably thought himself clever hiding his conspiracy under a humanitarian mission."

Allen peaked over her shoulder again to read for himself. The date wasn't familiar to him because it occurred while he was still on leave to care for Celena. The only palace business Eries had shared then were the harmless doings of the palace staff, described in length to Celena so she could better understand how grown-up society worked. Eries had mentioned nothing of Meiden. That was unfortunate because then Allen might be better able to pinpoint what was bothering him about these documents. It also might have kept Celena from falling asleep.

Alucier had noticed the date too. It was the day he'd come back from his sister's wedding in Dunhaven. He'd been ready to assume his duties planning the security for the summit only to discover that Meiden, the chief coordinator of said summit, had left town. As per the notes on the paper, Meiden had returned two days later.

Those weren't the only dates and notes that lined up. Keeping a suspicious eye on Meiden had paid off as Eries confirmed his absences from the palace when the notes said he was present elsewhere. She'd have to confer with Marqesita to match up the nights of Bennor's supposed seclusion in his room to get that side of the story. The earful Marqesita had already delivered on the subject indicated they wouldn't be finding any conflicts.

"So what do we do?" Alucier asked. "There's enough here to get a warrant for arrest on Meiden's thug, probably enough to get Meiden too. But…" He stopped, hoping Eries would fill in the unfortunate conclusion on her own.

"…but Meiden Fassa is Meiden Fassa," Eries said in compliance, "and even with a full confession we'd have to proceed cautiously."

"And with permission," Alucier continued. "Permission from as high up as they come."

"My father?"

Alucier shrugged as if to say 'Who else?' and 'Come, on. It's not that big of a deal.' The second was as doubtful as the first was blatant.

"I don't know," Eries said with a shake of her head, "Father didn't want to be involved with this."

Alucier thought of arguing that signing an arrest warrant wasn't really being that involved. The king signed countless documents all day; this one wouldn't be special. Or it wouldn't have been if King Aston were still performing his duties and the arrest warrant could have been inconspicuously slid into a stack of busy work where it would go unread but not unsigned as the king concentrated on getting his out box emptied.

He didn't have to make the argument though. Allen came up with a better one. "You thought that was because he wanted to test you."

"Exactly, Allen. He wanted to see if I was able to handle Meiden. I don't think running to Father and asking him to let my friend arrest Meiden qualifies as passing that test."

"Maybe it would," Alucier said. "You're not asking him for no reason. We have evidence."

"Evidence that a lawyer of the caliber Meiden is sure to hire would shred apart," Allen countered. "But you don't have to ask the king for an arrest warrant."

Eries and Alucier waited for him to reveal a previously unknown source of warrants that was unencumbered by political and familial ties. Neither was aware of any magical warrant fairy that came to the aid of the suspicious.

Fortunately, Allen's solution didn't involve anything more sensational than common sense. "Ask him for permission to investigate Meiden instead. This way, you won't be forcing the king's hand until you have enough evidence that he'll make the decision of his own accord."

It seemed logical but all Alucier could see were the holes in the plan. "You know how fast gossip travels in this palace. If word gets out that I'm checking Meiden out, the man will have his office cleared out before I can leave the king's chamber. We need an element of surprise or he'll find a way to wiggle out of the charges."

This was true but not insurmountable. Eries did know Alucier asking for an audience with the king would raise an alarm. But if she, the king's daughter, stopped by for a regular visit with a warrant stuffed in her pocket, no one would do a lot of talking then. She suggested this to Alucier.

As much as he wanted to limit her involvement and as wary as he was of giving Meiden the slightest chance to know what was going on, Alucier couldn't wait for another option. The missing papers would be noticed soon if not already. If he didn't get some kind of warrant, any additional evidence would disappear anyway.

"Can you go now?" he sighed heavily.

0-0-0-0

The ink was barely dry when Eries folded up the warrant request and slid it into her dress pocket. They hadn't wasted a second, Alucier even blowing on the paper and waving it around to get the ink to dry faster.

Allen remained behind while Eries and Alucier set forth. He thought things would go more smoothly without his presence antagonizing the king. Though Eries told him he was being foolish, that was more for Allen's benefit than the truth's. Someone had to go tell Marqesita what they'd found anyway. It might as well be her temporary personal guard.

As Eries and Alucier left Eries' quarters, they very nearly ran into a handmaiden washing the floor right outside the door. She apologized for being in their way profusely, bowing so rapidly as to send the short, blond curls on the woman's head bobbing.

"You've done nothing wrong," Eries assured her, though she wondered why the handmaiden was cleaning the floors at this time of day. That work was usually done much later at night when there were fewer people walking about to get in the way.

Neither she nor Alucier thought of it again. They had bigger concerns. The king's quarters weren't so far from Eries' and they had to have planned out what they would say to him by the time they got there. The shortest path would be to take a right and follow the hallway until it reached the king's wing of the palace. The long way would be to take a left, follow the stairs down, walk across the courtyard to the other wing, walk up the three flights of stairs there and then finally follow another hallway to the king's door.

They headed left.

The handmaiden watched them leave, the distraction making the pushes of her mop shallow and ineffective. They became completely useless when Eries' door opened a second time and the mop ran messily across Allen's boots.

Again, the handmaiden apologized. She became so upset, Allen had to give her the smile so renowned among the female population of Palas to calm her. The handmaiden appreciated it, but to Allen, it felt odd. The only woman who had seen it in a long time was Eries.

He didn't think he liked showing it to anyone else anymore.

0-0-0-0

While Eries and Alucier took the slow route to King Aston, the handmaiden with a mop headed rapidly in the opposite direction to Meiden Fassa's office. She had no cleaning to do there. She would, instead, be dishing out the dirt.

She knocked on his door and muttered a quick 'It's me'. Meiden told her to come in immediately.

When he first suspected that Eries was up to her old tricks (and developing some new ones) as far as Allen Schezar was concerned, Meiden had thought of assigning one of his existing agents to keep tabs on the happy couple. He'd realized how unnecessary that was when he'd been in his office mentally reviewing likely candidates for the job and failed to notice a handmaiden had come in to take out his garbage until the door closed behind the woman.

Handmaidens were all over the palace. No one paid any attention to their comings and goings because they were supposed to be coming and going everywhere. They had to linger in halls and outside doors to do their jobs. Even with the palace gossip network being as robust as it was, people seldom minded their speech around the handmaidens. There was an understanding that the truly serious palace business would be kept private.

New understandings could be reached all the time however, especially when money was applied to ease the process.

"You have good news I hope, Iribeth?" Meiden asked as he beckoned for the handmaiden to take a seat in front of his desk.

The handmaiden complied, albeit nervously. She had to steady her hands by sitting on them. As good as the extra money was, her conscious hadn't yet bought the argument that she wasn't betraying her princess by spying on her. She'd heard all the rumors about Princess Eries, all the nicknames and countless reassurances by Meiden that this was for Eries' own good, but the only time she was able to be convinced was when she handed over the gold coins Meiden gave her to her fiancée and he would announce how much closer they were to getting married and getting their perfect house.

Her fiancée never asked where the money came from. He knew her well enough to know she'd be ashamed to tell him. Nonetheless… "She doesn't seem to be acting any differently. She was with Sir Schezar in her room for quite some time, but they weren't alone. Another Caeli, Sir Maerzen, was with them."

That wasn't news at all. But Meiden could sense something was bothering the handmaiden beyond her usual guilty conscious jitters. "Any idea what they were doing?"

"I couldn't really hear them. You know, the princess can be very soft-spoken…"

_She can also be incredibly shrill_, Meiden thought. But that was a side of her that he, above all others, got to hear the most. He, above all others, _did_ provoke her the most. He agreed with the handmaiden anyway and waved impatiently for her to continue.

"Yes, of course, Sir," she stammered. "I could hear Sir Maerzen somewhat. He sounded worried about something. I kept hearing the word 'king'."

"Worried about Grava? Whatever for?"

The handmaiden didn't know. She shook her head meekly, herself worried that she was disappointing Meiden. It generally wasn't good for people in her station to disappoint a person of a station that was allowed to call the king by his first name.

Meiden didn't chide her. That wasn't the most efficient way to deal with the skittish. "Don't worry, my girl. That's a question for me to answer. Did anything else happen?"

Relieved, Iribeth breathed out the rest of her information. "As soon as they were finished talking, Princess Eries and Sir Maerzen left to go somewhere. It looked like they might go further down the hallway towards the king's quarters but then they took the stairs. Sir Schezar came out of the room shortly after. He took the stairs too."

"Good job," Meiden said. He fished a pouch out of a desk drawer and produced a coin. The handmaiden's performance wasn't all that he had hoped for but if he wanted her to keep going, praise was going to motivate her almost as much as pay.

She cupped the heavy coin in her hands and promised to do better tomorrow. Meiden only smiled amicably while he watched her leave.

Then, as the door clicked shut, he immediately frowned. What was Eries up to? Ditching Schezar to go with her old guard after a discussion about Grava – what did it mean? Did it have anything to do with her ludicrous claims of having evidence against him? Maerzen was in charge of the investigation. Was she conspiring with the knight to turn the king against him?

That wouldn't be good.

He had little doubt that Grava in his prime would not have listened to that nonsense for a second. But his old friend was far from those days. The stroke hadn't damaged his sense of business or anything of the sort, but it had rendered him overly sentimental towards his daughters. Meiden had always thought Grava had displayed too much leniency before. Now that was all he showed. He had gone along with the idea of forcing Millerna and Dryden together by assigning them the same guard, but Meiden had had to spend an entire morning persuading him. As for Eries…

Meiden had gotten the impression that Grava was happy that his daughter was being so damned stubborn about his grand plans for Asturia. He'd actually chuckled over Meiden's suggestion that he put a stern fatherly foot down and tell her to fall in line. "She wanted me to bring you to heel too, you know," he had said. "But if she's willing to struggle it out, Meiden, you should give her a fair fight."

Pity Eries wasn't going to fight fair. Going to daddy with false accusations and dragging the only respectable Caeli she knew into the mud with her just to make her look better was a low blow. Meiden admired it in a way – it _was_ a solid, strategic move – but he could appreciate an opponent's maneuvers and be infuriated by them at the same time. Especially since, at this point, she was the one who was supposed to be seeing the light and stop fighting period.

Would Grava listen to her? His neutrality could only last so long and with Eries seemingly forcing the issue, his decision between daughter and old friend would come soon.

Meiden just had to ensure Grava choose wisely.

0-0-0-0-0

Eries' memories of Meiden Fassa went nearly as far back as her first memories of her father. That was only natural considering the two men met in grade school and had been friends ever since. To give the merchant the proper credit due, Meiden would have to be called Aston's right hand man. It was an arrangement that, up until now, had benefited the kingdom.

Unfortunately, things had changed and it had become a case of the king not knowing what his right hand man was up to.

Eries hoped she would be able to enlighten him.

She had let Alucier present the evidence. The investigation was his responsibility; reporting his conclusions to the king was expected, professional. It didn't scream 'Grudge!' as it would have if Eries had done the talking.

Still, Aston wasn't convinced. He and Dryden were of the same mind: this wasn't Meiden's style.

"Have you considered," Eries ventured, "that with the raise in stakes, Meiden might have adopted different methods?"

"It's possible," Aston conceded, "but it doesn't feel right. If he wanted this Tellot dead, not only would this Tellot be dead, Meiden would have made the blame fall squarely on an accomplice. He's very thorough."

A stupefied silence passed between Eries and Alucier while Aston casually thumbed through the papers as if skimming a trashy novel.

Alucier tried not to be disrespectful when he finally spoke. "So you're saying, your majesty, that you don't believe Meiden did this because the crime wasn't devious enough?"

"When you put it like that…" Aston sighed. "Meiden is busy these days and under intense scrutiny." He nodded at Eries. "He'd have no choice but to outsource the work. If I'm to leap to the conclusion these documents are trying to shove me in, it looks like it's really the underling's fault. That's not too improbable, I suppose."

"But you think it's unlikely."

Aston paused to consider how unlikely it was. He and Meiden went so far back, Aston was sure he knew everything about him. He was sure he'd be able to detect Meiden's trace in this business if it were truly there. He'd be able to gauge his friend's mindset.

But he hadn't been able to do that recently, had he? Meiden had maneuvered around him to place Allen Schezar as Eries' private guard. He'd developed the scheme Eries had told him about without Aston's input. Then he had only told Aston about it after being directly questioned. He didn't even want to think of Meiden using Marlene's secret as a leverage point as Eries had accused him of…

"I can't be positive, Eries," Aston said slowly, "but I am leaning towards unlikely."

So this was where Allen's suggestion came into play. With no expectations of getting an arrest warrant, asking for a search warrant didn't seem like such a defeat.

"The evidence isn't conclusive, your majesty," Alucier said, "so I can understand your disbelief. But I didn't come here to convince you on this evidence alone. I came to get the opportunity to gather more evidence that might better illuminate Lord Fassa's guilt or innocence."

"Let me guess, you want to raid Meiden's office?" Aston guessed. "Hmph, that'll have the entire palace up in arms. "

"But if it can prove our case, Father…"

"Or disprove,' Aston corrected her. "Sir Maerzen was going to great lengths to be polite and pretend to be objective."

Though he'd been keeping his head bowed in deference to the king since entering, Alucier risked a look upward at Eries. Aston was either mocking him because he was about to kick them out empty handed or had some hitherto unknown sense of humor that he liked to use to make his underlings extremely uncomfortable before giving them what they wanted. He wasn't going to bet on the latter.

There had been a lot of surprises in his life lately and the king's reaction was among the biggest. Aston chuckled, that hidden sense of humor being a source of amusement at least to himself. "Oh, don't panic. I was simply telling you that you need to approach this without a foregone conclusion. Because if Meiden isn't guilty, you're going to look like fools. And that's the best case scenario. At worst, Eries, you will lose all your political influence. And you Caeli, you can forget any ideas you ever had about succeeding Lord Ramkin because you'll be out of the Order so fast, the tournament will decide your replacement instead.

And if Meiden is guilty, he's not going to hand over the proof as easily as you got this."

Alucier had already come to terms with losing his bid to become commander. He hadn't let himself think of losing his commission entirely. But more than that, he would never think of letting this drop just to play it safe. He'd see it to the end, wherever that took him. He vowed it to himself and to the king.

"I'd expect no less from a Caeli. Well, one of the good ones, anyway," Aston told him. It wasn't that much of a riddle as to who, in the king's opinion, was one of the bad ones. "I'll give you permission to search but on one condition: above all, you will be discreet. Break into his office in the dead of night if you have to, but no one, I repeat no one, is to know of this until you have proof one way or the other to give. Understood?"

"Yes, sir. Perfectly, sir," Alucier barked. He hadn't been that enthusiastic about responding to a commander's question since he'd first joined the guard.

Eries' expressions of gratitude were just as profuse. Aston didn't feel too warmed by all the gushing being directed his way. If Eries was wrong, she was in for not a small amount of trouble. But if she was right…the fallout could put all of Asturia in an even worse position.

0-0-0-0

With one major obstacle out of the way, Alucier was left with an even larger one to surmount. Per Aston's orders, he could search Meiden Fassa's office, but only if he did it without anyone knowing about it until after the fact. Normally such a search would be on shaky legal grounds, but a direct order from the king superseded pesky things like search and seizure laws.

The search was still problematic. Showing Meiden the warrant and prancing right in was out of the question. The merchant would raise hell and then some. It looked like sneaking was the way to go again. He'd had great success in getting the first set of documents that way after all.

That time though, he'd gone through an unlocked door and rifled through similarly unguarded cabinets. Meiden was going to have tighter security. The lock to the outer door wouldn't be so bad. Meiden's office was palace property and as such, he couldn't make too many modifications to it. At least, none that were all that visible. Inside the office would be a different story. Alucier pictured lock after lock. A man didn't obtain and retain great wealth by being sloppy with his business secrets.

Walking Eries back to her quarters, he thought of the best way to approach this. Around midnight was the optimum time frame naturally. No one would be around that wing of the palace except easily redirected guards until morning. That should give him ample time to get in and get out, assuming he encountered no problems – for example, not being able to open a damn cabinet because his lock picking skills were sub-par.

"I don't suppose you know any good lockpicks?" he jokingly asked Eries.

She answered him seriously. "You're worried it's going to be difficult to find what you need in Meiden's office? I've thought the same."

"And what did you come up with?"

"Well…" She had come up with something. She did know a good lockpick. The problem was that his skill was years out of practice because it was a skill he never wanted to practice again. He didn't want anyone knowing about the skill period.

"We're already in a grey area, Eries," he urged her. "Whatever help you can come up with will work for me."

"I just thought that maybe," she started slowly, "that someone we know would have better luck breaking into Meiden's office than you undetected."

"Someone we know?" Revius wasn't horrible with a lock, but there was a reason why he kept a spare key to the apartment on the landing: he didn't want to have to rely on using a pick. He could go through other candidates and eliminate them too but he knew it wasn't necessary. Eries' reluctance meant one thing. This was about Allen and the shady past he hated talking about. "I'm guessing a certain blond colleague?"

Eries nodded. "I don't know how much he's told you about what he did before training with Balgus, but he acquired certain skills during that time that would prove useful in this situation."

"He didn't tell me much, but I managed to drag the word 'bandit' out of him once or twice over the years."

"I'm gathering he was sparse on details with you."

"I'm gathering he wasn't with you."

"Um, no," Eries coughed. She'd just as soon as avoid the details on what she knew and why she knew it for now. It was hardly relevant to the situation at hand. "Let's say he told me enough and leave it at that."

Alucier mumbled his assent. He agreed what Eries knew wasn't relevant either but he wouldn't have minded prying into the why she knew it part. He'd acted annoyed with the broad hints Revius had been dropping but hadn't been able to ignore them all the same.

But that was a matter for another, less filled with impending doom, day. If Allen could produce what he wanted faster and with less risk than he could, Alucier wasn't going to quibble with the details on anything.

0-0-0-0

"You want me to do what?" Allen stared blankly at Eries. He was supposed to be home by now, listening to Celena regale him with her tales of the day that may or may not have actually happened. If his sister had anything, it was a vivid imagination. But he had a feeling that whatever she might have come up for tonight would have paled in comparison to Eries' request.

"I know it's asking a lot of you," Eries said. She'd known that so well, she'd sent Alucier away the second they had caught up to Allen and waited until she and Allen had returned to the privacy of her quarters to ask him.

"But you said you got the warrant from your father…"

"Along with the demand that we keep things quiet."

"Then what was the point of getting the warrant in the first place?"

It did seem pointless if one didn't take the politics of the situation into account. "We needed Father's permission for this. If we hadn't received it, the whole investigation would have an air of illegitimacy even if we found irrefutable evidence against Meiden. And if don't find what we need and we had done so publicly, we would have created a schism in our entire political structure. Only it wouldn't be that broad of a schism because if the council were to choose whether to side with Meiden or myself because I know exactly whose side they would be on without Father prodding them in my direction."

"So getting this warrant was really about protecting you."

"Basically, yes," Eries answered despite the question being rhetorical.

"And having me go in under cover of darkness would be protecting you as well."

She chose not to answer that time. Allen would do this for her no matter how little he wanted to. It made her feel worse for asking.

He was already planning. "I suppose tonight as good as any. We just need to find Alucier and have him arrange for the hallway outside Meiden's office to be unguarded at the right moments. I'll need some lock picks as well. Micha Revius should have tools in his workshop that I adapt for the purpose. I'll need to go home and change clothes anyway. I'll get them then."

"That makes sense. Your uniform would attract more attention," Eries said.

Allen didn't respond. That was a reason to change, but it wasn't his reason for wanting to wear something other than his Caeli uniform.

Eries had made many ethical compromises since the summit began. She'd been able to justify them all because, in the end, they would only be on her. Allen had helped her along the way but nothing more serious than suggestion a place to meet or standing look out. Her father's blessing or not, breaking into Meiden's office was a serious move and whoever made it would bare the brunt of the consequences if it went wrong.

"You don't have to this," she told him.

"I want to."

It should have been a lie but there was a sincerity within that Allen could not have faked, not with her. "Allen…"

"I want to do it for you," he explained further. "If this can help you, it's worth it. Besides," he indulged in a smile, "you're not asking me to rob people at swordpoint. Between breaking into the occasional store for supplies and that, I much prefer to be reminded of the former."

"You'd rather not be reminded of any of it at all."

He admitted as much, but still wouldn't back down. "It's part of my past and if it can help you, then for the first time, I'm grateful that it is."

It was another should-have-been-a-lie with more truth in it than Eries ever could have imagined. _How far he's come_, she thought as she embraced him – for luck and out of gratitude.

She kissed him out of something else altogether.

0-0-0-0

Despite all of Eries' worries, the plan went off without a hitch. Alucier called for the guards in the vicinity of Meiden's office to attend an impromptu meeting to go over the very important issue of palace security. While they all agreed on the need for constant vigilance, Allen, in plain clothes and his hair drawn back into a ponytail, stood before Meiden's office, produce a sliver of metal Micha Revius used to nudge small gemstones into place into the lock of the door, twisted and pushed the door open. It took him less than five seconds.

Once inside the office, he moved more slowly. Meiden did have some rather intricate locks on his files which would have stumped Alucier but Alucier had never been a starving boy completely alone in the world who needed to get a lock to open to survive. The movement of the picks came back easily to Allen. Surprisingly, they brought no guilt with them. Back then, he'd justified his thefts with the rationale that it was better to steal from an empty building than to threaten a person's life. He'd believed it too, until Balgus had along and shown him how to live a life of honor, not equivocations.

He still felt he had a ways to go before he could truly achieve that, but as he skimmed through Meiden's ledgers, he felt no need to argue with his conscious over this particular act.

All told, he was in Meiden's office for over an hour before Alucier came by to check on him. He entered shortly after a guard passed by, knowing that with the guard's patrol route, he and Allen would have another ten minutes to get what they needed and go.

They didn't speak. Allen passed Alucier the papers he'd deemed useful and pointed to a stack he hadn't yet gone through. While Alucier rifled through the stack, Allen carefully relocked all the drawers he had opened, replaced any objects he had moved and blew out the small lamp on Meiden's desk.

Then they were back out in the hallway and two regular Caeli again, albeit one was out of uniform and they both carried concealed papers that could change the entire course of the summit and thus, the world.

0-0-0-0

Eries waited in her quarters, nervous with anticipation. Would Allen find anything useful? Would anyone find Allen?

Sleep was out of the question, so he tried to pass time by reading over her summit notes. They, though, served as a reminder of Meiden and thus, of Allen. She pressed on anyway. Tomorrow at this time, she could be the only Asturian delegate, after all.

The thought did intrigue her. She'd been butting heads against Meiden her entire political career, she'd hardly know what do with herself if he were removed as an obstacle. Plans that had been categorized as long-term because she'd have to gradually coax the other council members over to her side could be put into effect straight away. Who'd challenge her? Dryden held scant interest in politics and with Meiden gone, the council would be more or less hers – well, hers as acting on her father's behalf and with the full blessing of the Prince Regent.

Of course, this would only happen if Meiden was guilty. For the first time since this mess began, Eries realized how much she wanted him to be.

That wasn't good. Moreover, it wasn't right.

Both Dryden and her father didn't think Meiden was. Their judgment could be written off as biased, but the only difference between their judgment and hers was that their bias went in a favorable direction.

_We have evidence_, she argued to herself. _We're in the process of getting more. _

_No, we have circumstantial evidence and we're trying to get more. _

There was a difference between the two concepts, the same difference between a fair justice system and a corrupt one.

_Just wait until Allen comes back. Then I'll know. _She wasn't going to make any more plans until then.

She wasn't waiting long. Alucier and Allen returned to her quarters together, both men commenting that they knew she wouldn't be asleep.

"So, what did you find?" she demanded.

"Well, first off, we have this signed confession written in blood," Alucier said dryly. After Eries was finishing glaring at him, he continued. "We're not sure what we have. Allen looked for papers dated around the time of his trip overseas and anything relating to the docks, but we haven't had any time to really go over anything in detail."

"And the Devil will naturally be in the details."

"Exactly."

While Alucier went over to the dining area of Eries' quarters to spread the papers out on the table, Eries turned to Allen. He'd been quiet during the exchange.

"It wasn't too difficult for you, was it?" she asked.

"No, it was easy – both getting in and getting out."

"That's not what I meant."

"No," he intoned, "but it is what I meant."

Eries checked on Alucier and seeing that he was busy arranging papers, moved in closer to Allen. "It really didn't bother you?"

"I'm as surprised as you. But I had a good cause this time."

Eries wanted to move closer, but Alucier chose that particular time to have to cough. She was certain he had neither heard nor seen her and Allen but was quick to move back regardless. "I guess with the easy part over, we need to start reading those documents."

They joined Alucier at the table. He'd already arranged some of the papers by dates and gave them to Allen and Eries to read. He'd keep sorting the rest.

Eries began reading immediately. Allen hesitated, tapping his share against the table. He'd had to search deep in Meiden's files to find some of these papers. Others…others weren't so hard to find. He should have kept better track of which ones were which but with all the sorting going on, it was too late for that. For some reason, it felt regrettably important.

0-0-0-0

In the morning, Meiden went to his office first thing as he always did. He gathered some notes on the summit and checked his ledgers for the large, black numbers that appeared at the bottom of the balance sheets. He could think of no better way to start the day.

He didn't notice anything amiss. He didn't go into the locked files that Allen had pilfered. Those files served very specific purposes which didn't need to be served today. Allen had also gotten to his top desk drawer but Meiden did not notice any papers missing from there despite opening the drawer to retrieve a pen.

He couldn't miss what he never had known was there.

0-0-0-0

Despite having gotten very little sleep the night before, Eries was at her father's door before anyone else could see him. Beating the handmaidens who brought breakfast was quite a feat. More impressive was beating Millerna. Her sister liked to run Aston through some light exercises as soon as he woke up. Her theory was that the physical labor helped getting his mental faculties moving quickly too. Aston tolerated the routine because he knew his daughter only meant the best for him. That, and Millerna allowed him to have some meat and heavy syrups added to his normally healthy breakfast plate as a reward.

Aston was expecting his youngest daughter when Eries entered. He took one look at her serious and sleep-deprived face and wished she had been Millerna.

"You went ahead and did it, didn't you?"

"You knew we had to act quickly, Father."

"I didn't think you'd be at Meiden's office before the door closed on my quarters."

"We did wait ten minutes." The joke fell flat as it was interrupted by a yawn. It was just as well as neither of them would find the report Eries was about to give the slightest bit humorous.

Aston slumped back in his bed. He could feel what was coming and some things were easier to take lying down. "What did you find, Eries?"

She told him. They had records of payments going to the man at the docks for 'miscellaneous labor'. That was the least of it. They had notes written in Meiden's own hand about his meetings with 'the Egzardian' who was never identified by name but was occasionally referenced with a male pronoun. They'd found letters from the not-hard-to-guess Egzardian containing dates from before the summit and ones that must have been recent. They outlined everything from Tellot's connections to the Egzardian Parliament to Tellot's comings and goings since arriving in Palas.

Even though Eries gave these letters to Aston to read, he still didn't believe it. He didn't want to. "He wouldn't go that far! It's too dangerous!"

"His entire plan for this summit has been too dangerous. You agreed with me."

Aston regarded his daughter coolly. Being correct wasn't the same as being right. "That plan was based on manipulation. Meiden knows there's a line you don't cross."

She would later attribute her outburst to a lack of sleep, but at the moment it occurred, Eries thought her father deserved it. "So you still don't believe me? Then why did you bother giving your permission to search Meiden's office? Were you sure I wouldn't find anything and thought it wouldn't hurt to humor your silly little daughter? What more do I have to give you?"

In truth, she'd already given enough, at least enough to satisfy the courts. Aston couldn't name why he wasn't satisfied beyond repeating claims he'd already made – claims Eries wasn't going to listen to. " Eries, please. I'm not saying I don't believe you. Your father does, but Meiden's friend doesn't and the king of Asturia wants to deny it even though he knows he can't. You give me this evidence and quite frankly, I don't know what to do with it."

"But you're the king," she reminded him. "You have to decide what to do with it."

"Yes," he laughed bitterly. "I'm the king." Technically, Aston wasn't truly back in charge but who was hadn't been sorted out yet. Dryden should be as prince regent but he'd abandoned the position and hadn't been back long enough to make a convincing reclamation, which left the only other candidates as Meiden and Eries. There wasn't an objective person in the lot.

As much as he would enjoy the luxury of putting his decision off, it wouldn't wait. It couldn't. So the desires of Meiden Fassa's friend and Eries' father fell silent as the king spoke.

"I don't have authority over that Bennor fellow but I'm sure you'll be sharing all this with Princess Marqesita. She and Prince Tellot can figure out what to do with him. Should they chose to put him into custody, I think you should suggest to them that he's caught a nasty cold and is riding it out in the comfortable seclusion of his quarters. As for Meiden, he's caught a cold of his own. He's going to recover in the privacy of his own home under the watchful eye of the palace guard. Tell your Caeli friend Maerzen to report to me immediately. I'll give him the warrant he needs. Dryden will take his place at the summit. Track him down and send him to me as well. No one other than the people I have mentioned are to know anything of this. You do not speak of this to other delegates. You don't tell Millerna. You are to use discretion above all else."

"Of course, Father," Eries said while she wondered how to keep Nuri from being suspicious of Meiden and Bennor's sudden absence from the summit. She already knew lying to him wouldn't work. After last night's dinner, she couldn't bring herself to lie to his face.

There was still more to be done, but Aston thought enough damage had been done for the day. He dismissed Eries. "Go now. Your sister will be here any second. If you pass her in the hall, tell her I was lecturing you about Schezar again."

And so the cover up began. Justice would be done, but it would be done inconspicuously as possible.

It was no matter. The men this justice would serve best had there own ways of finding out anyway.

0-0-0-0

Eries wasn't there when Alucier showed up at Meiden's door, this time in broad daylight, with the roll of parchment containing Aston's signature and the pronouncement of house arrest. She wasn't there when Meiden scoffed at Alucier and told him his joke wasn't very funny. She wasn't there when Alucier took Meiden to see her father and Meiden raged against his old friend for betraying him so utterly. She wasn't there when Meiden stalked from the king's quarters in disgust, cursing at Alucier to stay away from him, he knew how to get to his own damn house.

Once, she thought she would have loved to be there to witness the downfall of her political rival but as Alucier recounted the events for her, she came to realize she was glad she'd been in an entirely different wing of the palace.

That experience in itself had not been so pleasant. She'd gone to Dryden to tell him the news. He'd welcomed her into his quarters with a smile. The dinner had gone to hell for Eries but for him, he was in heaven. He and Millerna had continued to talk after they'd left, both agreeing on how little they liked politics. Then Millerna had said she'd need to get some experience with them if she were to forge ahead with her plan for medical schools and hospitals. Dryden then mentioned two things: he'd be happy to fight for the cause for her and he had a good source for medical supplies. Things had taken off from there and before they had known it, the bells in the courtyard were marking midnight with their soft chiming.

"It was really something," he'd said. "We were on the balcony near her room, the moonlight was streaming down and there was music in the air. Well, sort of music."

Then Eries had told him about his father.

He'd reacted calmly, but a twitch in his hand indicated that it was a cover of cool professionalism. He'd repeated that it didn't sound like Meiden, then asked to see the proof for himself. Eries had told him to visit Aston. He still had the proof with him and he'd wanted to talk to Dryden anyway.

That's where Eries assumed Dryden was now. Maybe the two were commiserating over their disappointment in Meiden. Maybe they were expressing their mutual disbelief.

Eries was glad she wasn't there either.

"What's wrong?" Alucier asked. He couldn't help but notice she'd frowned throughout his story. "This is a victory, right? We caught the bad man and got rid of a thorn in your side all in one shot."

"Perhaps," Eries allowed. "But Meiden is only under house arrest until we gather even more evidence. And Bennor…we don't know how Sita and Tellot will handle him." With Marqesita's temperament, it was hard to predict. She could only hope the Egzardians would follow Aston's suggestions.

"Well, we can ask Allen when he gets back. Should be any minute now."

That was only a rough estimate. Allen had elected to tell Marqesita the news on his own, telling Eries to try to get some sleep to make up for last night. He'd first have to find Marqesita, wait for however long it took for her to calm down and then find Tellot. Once there, he'd probably have to repeat the process. And then they too would begin the wait for more evidence or a confession while they worried about the impact this would have on their country.

One brother trying to kill the other for the throne – not a new concept for royalty by any means, but when combined with the concealment of the king's death, the tumult facing Egzardia made Asturia's problems look trivial.

Not that Eries wouldn't worry. Meiden was down, but not out and her two most important allies – her father and Dryden – had lingering doubts to his guilt. She'd have to keep pressing forward, to find out how Meiden had done what he'd done to satisfy her need for proof and to find out why as well for Dryden and her father's sake.

That was the only way this mess was going to be put to rest.

0-0-0-0

Mysterious Cesarians and Basramians could meet each other in hallways at other times than the middle of the night. They didn't like to because of the chance there might be other people in those hallways, but now was a special occasion, a cause for celebration really.

"So is Fassa in prison?" the Basramian whispered to the Cesarian after he'd finished sharing the good news.

"I'm not sure where he is, only that the Caeli arrested him. Can't imagine Aston throwing him in the dungeon though; it's too public. Besides, I don't think it matters."

"You don't think he'd be more apt to tell everyone about the alliance he thought he had with us if he's rotting down there?"

"Who's going to believe him? They have evidence, remember and Fassa will look like a drowning man clutching at anything to keep him afloat."

The Basramian kept silent as two men passed the conspirators in the hall. The Cesarian pretended to be discussing the large painting of the Asturian seaside that covered half the hall's wall.

"I'm impressed how the painter caught the ambience of the sea. You can almost feel the mist on your face."

The Basramian felt nothing but cold anger rising in his face. Fassa had nothing to lose by exposing what he knew of their conspiracy and once more, they'd given him motive to do so if the merchant ever figured out who had set him up.

The Cesarian was not bothered by the concerns the Basramian muttered to him. "He was not involved in our more _interesting_ plans and he has no reason to suspect us anyway. Dear Princess Eries and her pet Caeli were the ones who got him."

"But what of Bennor e' Egzard? We implicated him as well."

"He's even less of a threat. He was never involved with us beyond those few cursory meetings and he'll likely place the blame on his sister."

The Cesarian paused and sighed. "After all, who would ever conceive that an oaf like Tellot would be conniving enough to arrange his own assassination attempt?"

* * *

Next Up: Who's Going to Ride Your Wild Horses? Let's take a break from all this conspiracy stuff for a while and do some of that romantic crap. Eries and Allen and Dryden and Millerna on the most awkward double date in the history of Asturia. I'm sure Celena and Revius' presence will make everything go more smoothly….or not. 


	25. Who's Going to Ride Your Wild Horses?

Intrigues of a Princess

XXIII: Who's Going to Ride Your Wild Horses?

Meiden's 'illness' didn't cause the stir Aston had feared it would at the summit. The majority of delegates accepted the story at face value. Some, like Van Fanel, welcomed the change to the younger Fassa and couldn't care less what the story was. General Adelphus, for whatever reason, seemed to agree with Van. Perhaps military men didn't care for those who stayed out of harm's way during battle and then swooped down afterwards with profit in mind. Dryden's reputation of helping rather than fleecing the victims of war would sit better with Adelphus if that were the case.

The most notable aspect of Bennor's absence was how solitary Marqesita looked sitting at Egzardia's large table by herself. Under any other circumstances, the princess would have been thrilled to be given such control. Under these circumstances, the most celebrating she could manage was spreading her papers out a bit more than usual. Her little brother trying to kill her older brother was not her ideal method of coming to power.

If anything, Dryden was the only delegate who acted affected by the changes. He'd had a lot of catching up to do on the summit alone. Toss in the crisis with his family and a budding friendship with the hope for more with his estranged wife and he'd been overwhelmed. He'd spent the first few hours of the morning session fighting off weariness from being awake for over a day trying to handle all of it. He wasn't successful in staving of the yawns that came to him at regular intervals but he was able to snap himself to attention if he kept his eyes closed for too long.

As a sign of how plodding summit proceedings had become, only Eries noticed his sleepy behavior. Everyone else must have chalked it up to boredom.

Dryden was more awake after the noon break. Eries didn't have to ask why; the smell of coffee was so thick on him, she wondered if he'd rubbed the grounds onto his robes.

"And my old man actually liked all this crap," he muttered to Eries when the lead Cesarian delegate suggested a motion to recap some trade specifications discussed yesterday.

"No one likes it, Dryden. He was just aware of what he could gain by paying attention."

"Yeah, that's my father – always aware of the game. At least that was him until last night…"

Eries detected a protest within the remark but ignored it. There was a time and place to discuss Dryden's lingering doubts and this particular time and place were categorically not it.

Dryden knew it too and switched the subject. "I don't suppose we can get some time off to go over all this stuff? I crammed as much as I could, but I still don't know half of what's going on."

"Tomorrow is a scheduled break. It's some holiday back in Basram and they requested the day off to celebrate."

Dryden looked over to Basram's table. Two of the delegates fiddled with notes while the third watched the Cesarian speaker with what Dryden could swear was nervousness. He had no idea what could be threatening about trade specifications. He didn't want to know either. "Bunch of party animals, those Basramians."

Eries' plans were no wilder. "If you want, I can review our strategy with you then."

"You mean you'll tell me what your strategy is and expect me to follow it."

Eries coughed delicately. "I'm not your father."

"And neither am I. But even though I've been dragged into this, I'm going to do things my way."

"Understood." And it was acceptable as well as Dryden's way wasn't likely to be anything like Meiden's way.

"It's a date," Dryden concluded. Proving he had no hard feelings, he joked about where to meet. "So you'll be coming by my family's estate sometime tomorrow? I'm sure Dad would love to help out."

_Oh, he would Dryden. _But now that Meiden was gone, Eries would be damned before letting him interfere with the summit again.

0-0-0-0

Eries and Dryden settled on a much more neutral territory for their meeting: the Royal Library. It would give them access to information they might need and provide plenty of privacy because, as the name suggested, the admission standards limited the amount of people who could browse its shelves.

So they were surprised to find the main table at the library's center already occupied though the woman sitting there certainly had every right to be there.

"Millerna," Eries greeted her sister, "I thought you'd be with Father this morning."

"I was," she answered without looking up from her book. It was a thick medical tome, brand new going by the crispness of the pages. "But he was in such a weird mood I thought I'd leave him to the doctors. Besides, the librarian told me the books I ordered came in yesterday and I wanted to see them."

She held out the book for Eries to see. The page it was opened to a drawing of a human body – sans skin.

"It's…um, very nice," Eries managed.

Dryden, naturally, was more straightforward. "That's kind of disgusting. How you doctors put up with looking at that stuff is beyond me."

Millerna brightened at being called a doctor and invited Dryden to look at her other books. He sat down readily despite having a full-page spread diagramming various human organs being shoved in his face.

"And that's completely disgusting."

"Oh, it's not so bad once you get used to it."

"Why would I want to?"

The answer to Dryden's question was rather obvious. Millerna talked him through the diagram, so excited by the subject matter, she forgot to act awkward around him.

With Millerna and Dryden thoroughly occupied with each other, another man felt more relaxed as well. Allen left his guard post at the Library's entrance to talk to Eries.

"I gather this is more important than the summit business?" he asked.

"I place no priority on it one way or the other," she solemnly vowed. "But I believe interrupting them would be considered interfering with the natural progression of things, so why don't we find another table far, far away from those horrible books."

Allen glanced over to the table where Millerna was still extolling the wonders of the liver. "Regretting those sausages you ate for breakfast, are we?"

"Now, Allen!"

In their search for an area clear of any nausea inducing reading material, they found Revius loosely following his guard duty by occasionally peering around a bookshelf to make sure Millerna was still alive and then burying himself back into a book.

"What is that?" Eries asked him. "Once of those anthropology books with sketches of women from a tribe that eschews clothing?"

He frowned at her and her crude assumptions. "Please, Princess, they have shadowgraphs these days."

Revius closed the book and wedged it back into place with a sigh. "I think I liked it better when she went around yakking to doctors. If I have to spend all day stuck in this library, I will go into a coma."

"That must be her plan," Allen muttered and Revius showed his appreciation with a hand gesture.

"I might have said the same thing yesterday, but I do believe Her Pinkness has warmed to me."

"Forgive me if I sound too incredulous," Eries said, "but what are you talking about?"

Revius waved over to Millerna's table where she had moved onto explaining a second book to Dryden. "Just look at them. If it hadn't been for my great advice about her treating him better, she probably wouldn't be giving him the time of day let alone an entire lecture series on anatomy."

"Your…ad…vice?" Eries didn't care how incredulous she sounded now. Revius giving romantic tips to her baby sister – some concepts were too appalling to bother with politeness.

"Yes, my…ad…vice," Revius repeated. "And you can wipe that look of horror off your face. It's not like I gave her tips on how to consummate the marriage. I just pointed out how, well, how bitchy she was being to him – using nice words, mind you. I think it woke her up a bit. You can thank me with a small gift or monetary compensation."

She should find Revius giving nice advice less objectionable than Revius giving naughty advice but Eries was still annoyed. Even though she'd promised not to meddle in Millerna's affairs, she wished her sister had gotten it from her instead. That's what big sisters were for. Millerna shouldn't have had to go to a philandering knight instead.

She needed to get over it. For whatever reason, Millerna was voluntarily spending time with Dryden and that was a good thing. She couldn't begrudge Revius for being helpful.

She would, however, offer more help of her own. She decided to let Dryden have her summit notes so he could spend the day bonding with his wife. She had the things pretty much memorized so she no longer needed them and she'd written nothing she wasn't afraid for him to see. It was two birds with one stone really – Dryden would get time with Millerna and he'd see how open and trustworthy Eries was by giving him complete access to her summit plans.

And, quite honestly, she was getting tired of having to recap summit business to people.

She told Allen her plans and he was happy to know they'd have a free day together. He didn't quite phrase it that way exactly, but Revius interpreted it that way anyway.

He pretended to smirk at Dryden and Millerna instead. "Yeah, that sounds great. Our sweet princess will have the entire day with her man."

Eries brushed him out of the way so she could go give Dryden the notes.

"Did I say something wrong?" Revius asked.

"You usually do," was all Allen would allow. It was one thing to let Revius guess, another thing entirely to give him confirmation by trying to deny it.

At the table, Eries ran her suggestion by Dryden. He thought it was a good idea. "Looks like we'll be studying together," he said to Millerna.

"Oh, actually, I was going to go to the market in a little while." Sensing disappointment from Dryden, she quickly continued, "I mean there's something I need to get and I've been so busy with Father, this is the first chance I've had in a while to get out."

"Something you need to get…" Apparently Eries' incredulity had spread to Dryden.

"Yes, something…" she said and tilted her head slightly at Eries. "I need to get it soon too."

Wonderful. Eries had come over to be helpful and now Millerna was implying she was the reason why she had to get away. All that meant was if Eries could be even more helpful by volunteering to run Millerna's errand for her, she would be canceling out the meddling she had done by walking over in the first place. Or something like that.

"I was going to the market myself," Eries said, "if there's anything I can get you, I'd be happy to pick it up."

"You can't pick up your own birthday gift, Eries," Millerna insisted and that announcement of her intentions brought relief to everyone else in the room. She really wasn't trying to escape.

Eries should have guessed that's what Millerna had meant but the only thoughts she'd had of her birthday as of late was the needling she had done of Allen when they were trapped in the storage room. She hadn't considered what her family and friends might do to celebrate.

"Hey, if it's a present worthy of a princess and dear sister, I should come along and help you," Dryden said. "I do have quite the eye for quality merchandise."

And an aptitude for making successful sales pitches. Millerna hesitated briefly than agreed to the company.

With their plans set, they didn't hang around the library long. Millerna loaded Revius up with her medical books while Dryden carried the lesser burden of Eries' notebooks. As the trio walked out, Revius bemoaned a foreseen afternoon of lugging around Millerna's purchases like a pack mule.

Eries almost hinted that she would like a nice heavy trunk for her birthday but she'd need to be on Revius' good side if she was to get a report from him on how the day went when he returned.

"You want to follow them," Allen stated.

"I do not." _I'm perfectly willing to let Revius spy on them instead._

But Allen knew her mind. "You're willing to rely on Revius then for such an important matter?"

He had a point. 'Revius' and 'reliable' were not words put together lightly. Still, she had faith. "If I were asking him to eavesdrop on council members discussing politics, I'd be worried. But this is gossip. I have no worries."

"If you insist…" He let that matter drop but there was another issue to be decided. "What do you want to do today? Nothing that takes place remotely near the market district, I presume."

She hadn't been lying about shopping, but Allen was smirking a little too much for her to go ahead with it. "Something in the theater district perhaps?"

"Given my record with plays recently, I'd rather not."

She offered other suggestions; he made a few of his own. None of them managed to strike both of their fancies, until Allen said he wouldn't mind getting out of Palas for a while to check on the progress at the Schezar estate.

Getting out of town wasn't a bad idea at all. Eries had been so wrapped up in palace business since the summit began that going somewhere where the palace was only a scenic spot on the horizon was very appealing.

This path was not without caveats, however. As much as she loved the girl involved, she was hoping for some privacy with Allen today.

But it was not to be as Allen pronounced, "We'll have to bring Celena with us, of course."

0-0-0-0

Celena was not the only addition to their party. Eries had expected Aelia to come along - the Schezar estate was her home as well. What she hadn't expected was for Aelia to be out when they arrived at Micha Revius' guest house and waiting for over an hour because Celena refused to leave without her.

"You're very fond of her, aren't you?" Eries asked Celena, thinking she wouldn't have minded a motherly figure of her own when she was sixteen.

Celena shrugged. Her deepest sentiments were expressed in actions, not words. When Aelia came back from the market, the girl was the first to greet her and helpfully carried the morning's purchases to the kitchen. That she rifled through the sacks looking for treats didn't take too much emotion from the gesture.

Groceries were not the only thing Aelia brought back from the market. She had news too. "I'm sorry it took so long, Sir, but the market was very busy this morning. Princess Millerna and the Prince Regent were out together and you can imagine how excited that got everyone."

Eries felt pretty giddy about it herself. She hadn't quite appreciated the enormity of a joint public appearance after Dryden had been gone for so long until Aelia mentioned it. She wondered if Millerna had recognized the significance either.

Celena, on the other hand, didn't care at all. It was time to go!

"Oh, but we can't just yet, Miss Celena," Aelia said. She turned to Allen. "My apologies for being so presumptuous, but the Princess and the Prince Regent were so overwhelmed by all the commotion, they sort of needed an escape and I'm afraid Sir Revius used me. He saw me leaving and he hurried up everyone to catch up with me and then once we were out of the market, I thought it only polite to ask them if they would like to come over for some tea and such."

She didn't particularly want this question answered, but Eries had to ask. "Where are Millerna and Dryden now?"

"Up at the main house. Sir Revius wanted to introduce them to his parents."

That seemed unusual for Revius.

"Said something to me about it helping out his father's business," Aelia continued.

That was more like it.

"But they do want to come over. Princess Millerna wants to see Miss Celena and the Prince Regent was, ehm, interested as well." The phrase Dryden had actually used was 'so how weird is she?' but Aelia wouldn't have her precious Celena hear a word of that.

It didn't sound as if Celena cared to meet Dryden anyway. "But we're supposed to go see the house."

This sent Aelia into another apology for inviting guests over without Allen's permission but Allen told her it wasn't a problem. And on the surface, it shouldn't be. Hosting royalty should be an honor, even if the royalty in question is a princess who formally had a large and problematic crush on him and whose presence was interrupting a secret date with her sister.

Eries understood this too, so that left Celena to be the lone protestor. She had learned enough manners to cease immediately once Revius brought Millerna and Dryden over. She even helped Aelia with the tea and tossed some biscuits and jam onto a platter to serve. It wasn't the neatest presentation in the world, but it was food and it was served with a smile.

And a question. "Hey, do you two want to see my real house?"

0-0-0-0

With so much company coming along anyway, Eries could have extended an invitation to Marqesita as well but she knew the answer would have been no. Marqesita had two brothers to look after, one with a very real stab wound and one with a very fake cold. A casual daytrip was a luxury she couldn't afford.

There wouldn't have been room for her anyway. They were taking two carriages as it was – Dryden, Aelia and Allen in the lead carriage while Eries, Millerna, Celena and Revius trailed behind. No one had really chosen the seating arrangements other than Celena practically dragging the two Aston sisters into her carriage. Aelia was going to join her fellow females but Allen decided it was prudent to have a Caeli in each carriage. For some reason, he also concluded it was prudent for Revius to be the Caeli in the company of the young women. Being stuck in a small space with Dryden probably was preferable to spending that time with Eries and Millerna and Celena's unpredictability.

Both she and Revius were behaving themselves though, commenting on the passing scenery or otherwise being quiet. There wasn't much noise in general as neither sister was feeling chatty.

Well, Eries wanted to chat. She just wasn't so sure Millerna would be agreeable.

Eries started out gently, acting as if she was doing no more than fishing for hints on the birthday gift Millerna was supposed to have bought for her. "Did you go to any interesting shops this morning?"

Millerna caught on to the surface ploy at least and wouldn't play along. "You know why I went shopping. I'm not telling you a thing."

This naturally piqued Celena's curiosity and when Millerna told her the purpose of the shopping trip, the girl tried to make Eries equally inquisitive.

"Allen's already got your gift. I helped him with it. Very nice – I wouldn't mind having it myself."

"If that's the case, Jichia only knows what kind of monstrosity it could turn out to be," Revius muttered.

Celena rewarded him with a punch to his shoulder. "I have really good taste. Ask Eries. I picked out her dress and jewelry for the last ball."

Revius well remembered the ensemble. His appreciation for Celena's judgment rose measurably.

Millerna, though not a fan like Revius, did like finally having an explanation for Eries' appearance that night. "I didn't think that was a dress Eries would ever choose to wear on her own."

"I did choose to wear it," Eries protested, feeling as if she were somehow being challenged.

"Because she realized she looked so good," Celena said.

"No arguments there." Revius was spared another blow to his arm but if he kept making comments like that, he might receive a swift kick to the shin.

"Yes," Millerna said softly, "you did look beautiful that night."

Eries didn't know why her sister was being so serious with her compliment but then she remembered the original reason Millerna had thought was behind Eries' dramatic attire.

"It was only to show off in front of the other delegates. A woman in politics has to use every means at her disposal to command attention," she said.

"Learned that from Marqesita, huh?" Revius asked.

"She had some influence…"

Millerna wasn't convinced but she wasn't going to bring it up again, not in front of Allen's sister and most assuredly not in front of Revius. He'd been helpful in getting her to be more open to Dryden but he'd accomplished that by being brutally honest. She and Eries had reached an understanding based on implying acknowledgement rather than doing any actual acknowledging. It was a delicate balance that could easily be undone by someone fumbling around ungracefully with direct honesty.

This understanding spread throughout the carriage as even Revius let it drop and Celena got distracted by the appearance of her home through the side window.

"Almost home," she said, "it's going to be so much fun."

0-0-0-0

Even after it had fallen into disrepair following its abandonment by the Schezar family, the estate house still conveyed a romantic air of old Asturian grandeur. Newly renovated, the house retained that quality through the preservation of the old architecture but had also gained a dazzling sheen of beauty that commanded the attention of the entire party as they toured it, taking in the rooms drenched in sunlight let in by the large windows. Work had reached the point where the old furniture was being moved back in and the dust clothes were coming off, revealing antique after antique set upon meticulously restored floors.

Aelia nearly swooned at the thought that all this was hers to take care of.

The actual owner of the house was pleased with the work as well. Allen had nearly forgotten how wealthy his family had once been. Away from the house for so long, the symbols of that wealth had seemed more like relics of an irretrievable time. With everything out in the midday sun, impressing literally the highest members of Asturian society, it felt as if the house – and he by association – had been lifted to its former and rightful glory.

It was a feeling that held until Celena flopped down hard on a hundred-year-old chair and put her feet up on a table that was ancient when the chair had been built. "Jeez, this chair's kind of stiff," she complained.

Dryden, with a great deal more care, sat down in the chair facing Celena. "That's how you know it's fancy furniture. Looks great, feels like crap. You should see some of the stuff at my family's house. I used to sit on the floor all the time because it was more comfortable."

Celena didn't think that made much sense. If you were shelling out that much money, you ought to get chairs you could sleep in but Dryden kept insisting it was otherwise.

"That's how it is in the noble classes. Form over function every day of the week. Meanwhile, the lowly craftsmen that churned out these gorgeous torture devices retired to the nice comfy couches they bought with all the money they got from overcharged for the things."

"I seem to remember some of those lowly craftsmen made quite impressive names for themselves," Eries said. To prove her point, she examined the leg of the chair beside Dryden and found the trademark of such a craftsmen delicately engraved at the bottom.

"I sit corrected."

Celena giggled at Dryden and it was unclear if the smile on Millerna's face was in response to him or to Celena. Dryden decided to give himself the credit.

With the tour momentarily stalled, Aelia excused herself to go explore her new kitchen. Revius went with her, not because he wanted to see it, but rather out of an instinct to follow maids like Aelia every time they set out for any place where food could be prepared with an industrious gleam in their eyes. The only foodstuffs that would be there were the ones the workers lived off of, but limited ingredients seldom translated into limited meals where those type of women were concerned.

"Can we see my bedroom next?" Celena asked when they were gone. "I can't wait to see how they did the window seat I wanted put in."

"If you are so impatient," Eries asked in return, "why wasn't that the first place you went?"

"You know how Allen is." She waved her still propped up foot at her brother. "He would have complained about how improper it was for a young lady to be showing off her bedchambers to strange men. And if he hadn't, Aelia would have."

While Allen huffed at this jape to his sense of propriety and protectiveness of his young, vulnerable sister, Dryden snickered.

He wasn't laughing for long; Eries sought to clarify Celena's comment. "So I can understand you waiting for Revius to leave, but what about Dryden? Do you not consider him strange or do you not consider him a–"

"Hey!"

"Shush, Dryden. I was asking a question."

The source of Millerna's laughing was now unquestionably Dryden, though at his expense rather than benefit. He would have pouted if he hadn't known it would only make her laugh harder and perhaps even drive the grin Allen was trying to suppress into laughter as well.

He no longer considered Allen a rival but that old, stubborn pride would be damned before he would let the man laugh at him in front of Millerna.

"Very funny, Eries," he answered instead. Making sure to add in just the right amount of self-deprecation to deflect any further remarks, he offered his own explanation for what Celena had said. "I'm sure Miss Celena was only taking into account my upstanding reputation when she discounted me from being strange."

Celena snorted, causing everyone to turn and stare and for Dryden's delivery to go straight to naught. "I don't even know you except for what Eries says about you. I just figured since you're married to Princess Millerna, nobody would care one way or the other if you saw my room, not unless you really are a strange – and you'd have to be kind of scummy too – man. You're not, right?"

"He's not…" Millerna started and Dryden breathed a sigh of relief.

Which promptly caught in his throat as Millerna continued. "Well, technically we are still married, but it's…um…" She stopped, not knowing how to go on or even why she should. Celena didn't require that thorough of an answer and Dryden didn't want to hear it at all.

"Um, okay, so you're not married, but that doesn't really address the matter of his strangeness or his scumminess."

With that, everyone was back to the lighter mood and Eries thought it a little too canny how Celena's awkward boldness had defused the situation so quickly. The girl gave no outward sign of knowing what she had done and how artfully she had done it. Celena kept plowing ahead – perhaps thinking her grace had earned her immunity for her next comments.

Or maybe she was just as lucky as she was tactless.

"Of course, I don't think it's fair that Allen would get mad. He sees Eries' bedroom all the time."

He could huff later. Allen needed to shut Celena up now. "I'm her guard, Celena. I'm required to be in her quarters."

"But you went there before you were her guard."

"Yes, in the sitting area, taking breakfast there as you have on occasion." Celena, on the other hand, had never spent a single night sleeping alongside Eries in her bed, let alone two, but Allen didn't think it would help to get bogged down in details.

"Okay, if you say so…"

Whatever point she was trying to make made, Celena switched back to convincing everyone to check out her brand new bedroom. Millerna, out of genuine fear of what Celena would bring up next, was the first to volunteer. She was not the last. The entire party was shuffling out of the sitting room and up the stairs to the second floor where the sleeping quarters were.

They were all very vocal in their admiration of how expertly the wood in the banister had been restored – everyone except Celena. She kept to herself, a sly smile the only clue as to what she was thinking about.

0-0-0-0-0

As expected, Aelia was able to improvise a full spread from the meager offerings in the pantry. She nonetheless felt that the meal was not grand enough to be the inaugural meal of the new formal dining room. This was despite was Revius' assessment – obtained through numerous samplings during the course of the meal's preparation – that it was fitting of the palace kitchens.

"But the two princesses and the prince regent-" she protested.

"Pfft, one of the princesses is just Eries and you're used to her. And look at Dryden. He's probably got stains from crappier food on his robes. As for Millerna, she's too polite to care."

To Aelia, 'too polite to care' simply meant she'd find the meal horrible but had the manners to hide it. That didn't help at all. She didn't even want to contemplate a food-stained prince regent because then she'd feel compelled to try out the house's new laundry.

Besides, she didn't think Revius could be serious about that. Royalty didn't go around in dirty clothes, even the ones that married into the crown.

In the end, she had little choice but to serve the meal as is. Revius started taking out dishes while she fretted and had declared 'Soup's on' before she had a chance to do proper table settings.

The disarray of plates and utensils didn't bother the diners. They grabbed what they needed and found their own seats, Allen of course as the head of the household taking the head of the table. Celena slid into the seat to Allen's left, despite Eries standing in front of it as if she were about to take it. Celena shrugged and said she liked the view from this side of the table even though as the lady of the house, she really ought to be sitting at Allen's right. Decorum already out the window, Eries took that seat instead, putting her next to Millerna while Dryden sat down beside Celena. Revius seemed to be staking out the other end of the table judging from how much of the flood he placed down there.

Though she didn't quite believe Revius, Aelia sneaked peeks at Dryden's robes as she served the meal. She didn't see any stains but did she ever have an ache to find a good shaving kit.

Dryden neither noticed nor would have cared if he had; he was wrapped up in a pleasant dinner conversation that had nothing to do with who had seen whose bedchambers and how scummy said person might have been. For that reason alone, he was enjoying it.

Other persons were enjoying it less so. Eries had always had a weak stomach when it came to the details of Millerna's medical studies. Discussing those details during dinner wasn't helping strengthen it despite the workout it was getting turning over and over as Millerna became more explicit.

Eries would have asked her to stop, but Celena was goading Millerna on, the inner workings of the human body apparently a subject that caught Celena's fancy more than any of her regular studying ever had.

"So if you stretched them all out, your intestines would be taller than you?"

"Much taller, Celena."

"That's really weird."

Allen sighed his sister's name, hoping she would start occupying her mouth with the chewing of her food instead of more questions about where said food went after she ate it. He'd already suggested this wasn't the most appropriate topic for over dinner, but Celena had twisted his words and accused him of protesting because she was a girl participating in the discussion. He'd never win that fight. Millerna had immediately come to Celena's defense, Eries (though he was sure she would love nothing better than for her sister to never talk about blood and guts again) would have joined in if it had gone on long enough and Revius and Dryden would have sat there grinning at him the entire time. It wasn't worth pursuing, even to claim his innocence at never trying to pursue it in the first place.

"Once they're stretched out, can you squeeze them back together again?"

"I don't think it works that way, Celena," Millerna answered. "I don't think anybody's ever tried."

"I know there's a saying that there's a first time for everything," Dryden added, "but I don't think it really applies in this case. And I don't think you should aspire to making it apply."

Celena crinkled her nose. "Eww, as if I would ever touch somebody's guts. No offense, Millerna."

"It's all right." At least Millerna thought it was all right. She didn't really know what to make of Celena just yet and it was doubtful if she ever would. She enjoyed talking with her regardless and picked up where she'd left off, skipping over though the more visceral bits. Eries was looking paler than usual.

Neither Celena nor Dryden seemed to notice because they kept Millerna busy with questions and wry comments well into dessert.

"You'll love it," Revius told Eries as he got up to help Aelia bring it out. "Pie with a crust made from scratch and a bunch of berry chunks in a thick, red syrup for filling."

Eries threw her napkin on the table. "I'm done. Discuss whatever you like; I think I'll get some fresh air."

Allen excused himself as well. Unlike Eries who'd picked at the offerings on her plate like a tiny bird, he'd eaten a large meal and couldn't take another bite.

"Sure," Celena muttered at the excuse. Revius had thought the exact same thing, in the exact same tone.

The two did head outside, out the back of the house and to the small gazebo that stood in the middle of the garden. This late in the season, there were few plants blooming but a feint perfume from the heartier flowers hung in the air. The breeze had died down with the approaching sunset but Eries felt a chill and wrapped her arms across her chest to keep warm. Allen, after glancing back to the house to make sure no one was watching, moved behind her and laid his arms over hers.

"You really shouldn't," Eries chided. She ignored her own advice and leaned back against him.

"I don't think we have to worry. Once Celena's interested in something, she doesn't stop asking about it. Millerna seems to be enjoying herself and I highly doubt Dryden would try to interrupt her. Aelia won't leave the kitchen until every last dish is spotless."

"And Revius?"

"As long as pie remains in my house, so will Revius."

"Then it's extra good thing that we skipped dessert."

"I never said I was skipping dessert; I merely had something else in mind."

He lifted his hand to brush away the long strands of platinum hair at Eries' neck. His lips were soon grazing the spot he had just cleared.

The chill be damned; Eries felt flushed. "You really, really shouldn't," Eries said and she couldn't tell whether she had spoken aloud or not.

Regardless, Allen continued, his fingertips now trailing up and down along her spine while his kisses varied from light touches to longer, lingering tastes of her skin.

Eries gave in. She no longer cared if anyone found them. She only wanted this moment to continue, to deepen as she pressed harder back into Allen and turned her head to meet the lips that were teasing her so.

"Ahem."

The cough came from the house and immediately she and Allen moved apart, standing rigid when they had been folding into each other before.

Allen tried his best to cover for them. "There, I think I got all your hair untangled from your necklace."

Their audience wasn't impressed. A combination of a cough and a snort came from Revius and it wasn't to get their attention.

Eries would not turn to face him if her life depended on it, leaving Allen to make another effort. Rather than digging a deeper hole, he simply refused to acknowledge anything was out of sorts. "Do you want something, Revius?"

"I want you to be aware that your little sister is about to invade the garden the second Aelia finds a wrap suitable for protecting such a dainty creature against the harsh elements of the early fall."

"Is that all?"

"That's all that won't make you want to punch me until I vow myself to secrecy."

Eries knew the small pond in the garden was too shallow to drown herself in but she walked over to it anyway. Her face was unbearably hot, from the embarrassment and other, more primal feelings that made the embarrassment even worse. A quick splash of cold water was exactly what she needed.

Gratitude for the warning and annoyance at the interruption prompted Allen to sigh in defeat. "How much did you see?"

Revius smiled and held up his hands. "I didn't see a thing except a guard helping a princess with a silly problem."

"Revius…"

"With that long, fine hair, Eries should be more careful. You can really mess up a chain when it gets tangled up."

"Revius…"

"What, Allen?" Revius asked flatly. He walked over and through a conspiratorial arm around Allen's shoulder. "Look, I sort of already figured something was going on with you two since every other time you were together as friends, it's been a battle who can stoically brood the most – I think you won those, by the way – and now, you're both all happy and crap. Getting confirmation is no big deal. And I swear to you I will not tell another soul. Unless Alucier asks, because he thinks something fishy is going on too but he won't admit it because you know how he is."

Somewhere in that mess, Allen found a reason to thank Revius and Eries found the courage to finally look at him. Speaking was another matter entirely. She assumed a look of indifference while her insides swam with questions. How had Revius become suspicious? He had made that remark in the library this morning. What had they done to trigger it? And had anyone else noticed?

There was a worse question she didn't want to contemplate: What if someone other than Revius had been the one to walk in on them? She pictured Celena reacting with a great deal of attention attracting yelling, Aelia fainting and Dryden…Eries couldn't picture him caring one way or the other. The threat with him was the very small radius he was keeping around Millerna and the problems her presence would have caused.

Millerna had hinted at understanding and accepting but they had been speaking vaguely, dancing around the matter so as not to get a truly clear picture of it. The scene Revius had stumbled upon – Allen's weak necklace excuse notwithstanding – was about as clear as you could get.

So Revius wasn't such a bad choice if they had to get caught. They'd be in for some ribbing for the next few days and the rest of their lives, but Revius never caused a scandal he wasn't the center of. Hopefully.

"You're not going to tell Alucier anything, are you?" Eries ventured quietly.

"I'm supposed to say no, right?"

"I think it would be in everyone's best interests," Allen told him. He slid out from under Revius' grip to join Eries. "The fewer people that know-"

"I know how this stuff works, Allen. Jeez, I'm not naïve. But we're talking about Alucier. He's not some noble craving the latest gossip. He's practically family."

Considering how little they wanted their actual, biological families to know, Revius' argument should not have held much weight.

But it did, more and more as Eries realized, conversely, how much lighter the relief that sharing this secret among her closest friends might make her feel. Not having to lie to those who mean so much to you – even if it's a lie of omission – had its appeal.

"If he already suspects something…" she said, her conviction already wavering.

"Yeah, he does. I mean, I think he does. Like I said, he's plays it cool like he doesn't know or isn't interested, but I can tell."

"You can tell." Allen said flatly. There was a lot hinging on this. Revius' intuition wasn't necessarily the firmest of foundations.

In his mind, it was just fine. "I can tell. My hunches aren't so bad you know. For instance, I had a hunch that when you two sneaked off, it might be for the best if I rushed through dessert to keep an eye on you so nobody else would. That seems to have panned out, you know."

Allen gave up. He was going to defer to Eries. They both ran risks if their affair became public but hers were greater than his. The Schezar name had been dragged through the mud already by Leon. A little more tarnish from a fallen knight wouldn't mean much. If anything, Celena would be overjoyed at the isolation from high society.

But Eries… What was the saying? The higher you are, the further you can fall.

Not that Eries had any fear of Alucier ever letting her fall. "Don't tell him," she told Revius. "I will."

"Are you sure?" both men asked.

"As you said, Revius, he is like a brother to me. I know he never betray my trust. I owe him a similar level of trust."

The decision pleased Revius though he couldn't help but complain that he'd been left to walk in on them. Were Eries' feelings towards him not fraternal enough?

"Please," Allen snorted, "I thought thinking of you as a brother was the absolute last way you wanted women to regard you."

"Just the single ones. Eries is obviously taken."

He was begging for retaliation but it had to wait as Celena emerged from the back door, a second helping of pie in hand.

She took one look at the serious Allen and Eries and the less solemn Revius and promptly lost interest in finishing dessert. "What's going on here?"

"Nothing, Celena," Allen answered. "Now, why don't go back and finish eating in the dining room?"

"Uh, huh, nothing. I know you, Allen. You've got the extra uptight expression that means you were talking about things you don't want me to hear."

"Doesn't it stand to reason then, that I'm not going to tell you anything that we were discussing?"

"So it was something good!"

"Celena…"

Once the Schezar siblings were in full bicker, there wasn't anything for Eries and Revius to do but let them hash it out. Eries walked back towards the house and gestured for Revius to come with her.

He was reluctant to go. Celena could, at any time, say anything. Such unpredictability and its effect on Allen were a hard show to walk away from.

Being dragging wasn't any easier but Eries held onto him, eventually using her fingernails as a prod for him to get moving. It was a shame because just as the door began to swing closed behind them, Celena launched into a tangent about Aelia never letting Gaddes finish all the good stories about Allen's days at the Castello.

"Oh, come on, don't you want to hear Allen wiggle around that?" Revius pleaded with Eries.

But she had no such desire. She'd come to the conclusion long ago that she didn't need to know all the details of Allen's colorful past. She had the basic summary and if Allen wanted to fill in any gaps, that was his choice. She had no need to listen in on a silly fight with his sister.

A serious discussion between her sister and Dryden was a horse of a different color. As the approach the dining room, she could hear the two still deep into discussion of medicine. The topic now was how Dryden could help Millerna set up her medical schools.

Eries stopped, not wanting to interrupt. Then she found a nice obscured spot behind a large cabinet, wanting to hear.

Eries was no lip reader but she was sure Revius mouthed the word 'hypocrite' to her before joining her behind the cabinet.

"Habit of yours?" he whispered once they were settled out of sight.

"Oh, shut up." It wasn't a habit per se. More like something Eries did on important occasions when in need of otherwise unobtainable information. A necessary evil, you could call it.

Revius did as told and kept quiet. His own experiences with eavesdropping had proved fruitful and having been the giver of the advice that had convinced Millerna to be nice to Dryden, Revius believed he deserved to see how those crazy kids were making out.

So far, they were making out in the most boring way possible. They had at least gone further than medical supplies and were discussing Millerna's skills. She insisted they weren't that impressive. Dryden objected, bringing up the surgeries she'd performed on both Allen and Van Fanel. Revius might have found the anecdotes interesting if he hadn't already prized the details out of Allen earlier.

"Isn't the point of eavesdropping to overhear good stuff?" he whispered to Eries.

She informed him the definition of 'good stuff' was highly subjective. Revius might be bored to tears but she was enjoying every word exchanged. Proclamations of love or even a speck of romantic interest were a long way off, but every word Millerna and Dryden shared meant they were taken a step towards them.

_Possible steps_, Eries had to remind herself. She was counting an entire hennery of chickens before a single egg had been laid.

"You seem awfully vested in your sister's love life," Revius said.

"I want her to be happy."

"And here I thought your goal was to see her wretched and miserable. You know what I mean."

"No, I don't."

"Oh, come on!" But Eries wouldn't budge so Revius did the budging for her. "She could be happy if she stayed single too. You of all people should get that. But you keep wanting her to get with Dryden like he's the only way she can be happy."

"I don't want to know where going with this, do I?"

"You want her married off to Dryden so you don't have to feel guilty about Allen."

"I…That is the…._dumbest_…thing," Eries stammered.

"I'm not saying it's your only motive, or even your main one, but you've got to admit. It might make things easier for you. Millerna wouldn't have any hard feelings because she's got her man and if the prince regent and princess got back together, a nice line of succession that leaves you free to do pretty much as you wish would be reestablished."

"I've never even considered that." And she hadn't considered the succession business. It _would_ be to her benefit if she were removed from the line in terms of a future with Allen.

But she wouldn't want that, not at the expense of Millerna's happiness. But again, if Millerna did reconcile with Dryden, there'd be no expense to pay at all.

She still repeated her demand to Revius that he shut up. Her primary interest wasn't for herself and he'd better get that through his head.

"Defensive much?"

She gave him a glare that very clearly meant he did not want to be told to be quiet for the third time.

_Very defensive_, he thought to himself.

While Revius and Eries were having their little spat, Dryden had gotten bolder. He was openly encouraging Millerna to resume her studies.

Then he got bolder still. "On my trips, I've met with some pretty prominent people in the medical community. They're always eager to get funding any way they can and a wealthy merchant is a great source. I could take you with me next time, introduce you to them."

Revius clapped silently at Dryden's offer. Perfectly altruistic on the surface, perfectly opportunistic once you dug deeper.

Millerna sensed the implications hidden in Dryden's generosity and balked. "I don't know, Dryden. It's seems like a big step. You saw how those people reacted to us in the market. If we went on a trip together…"

"A business trip," Dryden clarified. "We stay in separate cabins and spend as little or as much time in each other's company as you wish until we meet with the bigwig doctors."

A completely fair, on-the-level offer, but Millerna wasn't in any hurry to accept it. Traveling together carried certain connotations which led to certain expectations she didn't feel prepared to meet.

Before he could get a 'no' for an answer, Dryden took the offer off the table, or at least placed it on the side. "I'm not saying we leave tomorrow. I've got all this summit crap to deal with and who knows when that'll be over. And after that, winter's never really a good time to travel."

With a reprieve until spring, the idea became infinitely more appealing. Millerna would love to meet with all those doctors. Dryden's presence there might actually help her out too. Asturia wasn't the only country that looked upon female doctors with disapproval. As much as she would prefer otherwise, having a man standing beside her would probably grease the wheels as it were and result in more profound discussions instead of the mighty intellectuals patronizing the pretty princess.

And spring was months away – plenty of time for her to get to know Dryden better, perhaps even enough time for her to want to meet those certain expectations.

"That sounds interesting, Dryden," she said. "We should talk about it later, when it gets closer to when we would go."

It wasn't a rock solid confirmation but Dryden was not going to complain about his progress. It wasn't that long ago he was traveling from country to country to avoid Millerna. Now there existed the very real possibility that he could be making those trips with her. Definitely an improvement.

Eries was also pleased with his progress and she knew Aston would be thrilled. Without any real prodding, Millerna and Dryden were coming together. Such a development occurring without outside pressure could only bode well for their future, she was sure of it.

Revius nudged her to indicate they weren't going to alone much longer. The back door had opened and Celena was already bounding towards them, wondering why they were standing behind a cabinet.

She didn't have to ask though. Celena overheard Millerna and Dryden talking in the dining room and had an answer. "I think Allen would remind you that eavesdropping isn't the proper behavior for a lady," she said, loving the ironic twist of being the lecturer on bad manners instead of the audience. "It's also not good for a gentleman but I don't see how that applies in this situation."

"Har, har," Revius replied. When Allen joined them, his manners became deplorable. "You know, for somebody who supposed to be a complete ditz, your sister can work in some pretty sharp digs."

Over Celena's objection and the importance of defending family honor, Allen could only agree. "It's amazing the subtle details and minor nitpicks she'll find and use against you."

"Hey!" Celena's protests became so loud they attracted the attention of the previously oblivious diners.

Dryden and Millerna exchanged looks. They'd heard Celena and Allen come in, yet somehow had missed Eries and Revius, meaning the latter two must have been very quiet and not without reason.

"Hey!" Dryden shouted. "Can you guys hear us okay or do you want us to talk louder?"

Her chance for revenge at hand, Celena answered for them all. "I think they heard everything or else they would have hid behind something closer to the dining room than this cabinet."

"All right, then. I hate repeating myself." Dryden didn't think his comment was all that clever but upon seeing a smile bloom across Millerna's face he felt like the wittiest man alive.

"I guess you can't blame them for being curious," she said softly. This was for Dryden's benefit only.

"Nah, I don't blame them. I can still fault them for it though."

Smiling expanded into chuckling and Dryden added luckiest man alive to his qualities.

At this point Eries had moved from behind the cabinet into full view of the dining room. What she saw was even better than what she had heard. It was so good in fact, that she decided she didn't need to see any more of it. "Let's leave them alone, shall we?"

Allen agreed and sent Celena off to help Aelia clean up in the kitchen. Revius went with her, mumbling something about how happy couples needing their privacy.

Eries' mood was so light she didn't care. She and Allen's relationship had had its first public exposure with no harm done and she was confident that the second to Alucier would go as well as the first. And then she had walked back into the house to discover that Dryden and Millerna might actually have a relationship too. She didn't even care if Revius' theory on her motives was true or not.

If everybody's happy, what could possibly be the problem?

0-0-0-0

Next Up: We hear Bennor's side of the story and Dryden listens to Meiden's. But our charming mystery Cesarian has stories of his own.


	26. Running to Stand Still

Intrigues of a Princess

XXIV: Running to Stand Still

The doctors of the medical ward pronounced Tellot was free to go home, or rather back to his quarters, over the protests of Marqesita. For one, she was worried that his wound wasn't sufficiently healed. She knew her brother. Once out of the watchful eyes of the doctors, he'd start ignoring their advice to stay put and said wound would open up like a blossoming flower. Two, his quarters were right next door the person who had put him in the medical ward to begin with.

Tellot hadn't shown any anger towards Bennor, which Marqesita found overly generous but not entirely odd. He'd always been the good-natured variety of oaf and he was going the extra distance to remain so. He claimed to understand Bennor's motives, putting them at the slightly less selfish priority of Egzardia's best interests rather than Bennor's own personal desire for the crown. Marqesita thought Tellot was being ridiculous. Whether Bennor truly thought the succession going to him would best serve Egzardia was beside the point. There were other ways to go about doing it than hiring an assassin to poke a large hole into your brother.

But since that hole had been patched up and was cleaned daily by attractive nurses, Tellot didn't see a reason to hold a grudge, even after Marqesita had screamed at him, "Because he might try it again!"

"I don't think so," Tellot had said without offering an explanation why he believed it.

Almost two days had passed since Marqesita had brought him the news of Bennor's treachery and Tellot still hadn't been dissuaded. That was before he was being kicked out of his cozy bed in the ward though. Marqesita wondered how he would react to actually coming into contact with Bennor, if he'd be able to hold that same forgiving air while looking in the eye of the man who'd thrown aside their bond as brothers.

Of course, there was little chance of that happening. Since his 'arrest', Bennor had been holed up in his room, seeing no one but an Asturian attorney. Marqesita hadn't been crazy about having the attorney around but it was the only way Bennor would agree to his confinement. Otherwise, he'd made it clear he was going to be uncooperative in the loudest way possible. Since a lot of the noise he'd been making before Marqesita relented on the attorney were repeated accusations that she'd planned the attack on Tellot and was setting him up, she'd quietly hired the attorney herself.

It hadn't shut Bennor up, only channeled the accusations into letters the attorney gave her which spelled out why he would never commit such a horrible crime and all the advantages Marqesita would gain if she had.

Marqesita tore these up and never said a word of them to anyone.

Alucier had asked her how she was handling things. He'd meant it in the emotional sense but her answer had been entirely in business terms. She wanted to open up to him, needed to be able to talk to someone, but her duty wouldn't let her. This was a matter of Egzardian law to be kept within the royal family. She could thank Alucier for his help in procuring evidence, but that had to be the extent of his involvement.

She'd been too liberal with him, she knew. It only took a crisis in which she wanted to lean on him more than ever to realize she shouldn't be so close to him at all. She was a princess in the middle of literally bloody fight for succession. A crush on an Asturian knight was not a liberty she could afford.

So she'd resolved to throw herself completely into her duties. She was handling the summit on her own, taking care of Tellot and trying to keep Bennor confined and quiet. She didn't really have time for anything else anyway.

There were times when the taking care of Tellot part became a little too trying. She experienced one of these times while trying to get him settled into his quarters. He kept saying he was fine, she kept giving him instructions to follow because he wasn't fine and they talked over each other so much, neither could figure out what had been decided.

As when they were children, they resorted to whoever got in the last word to decided who won.

"It's doesn't even hurt that much," Tellot started.

"Because you're on medication that numbs the pain. Which is exactly why you need to stay in bed – you don't know your limitations."

"A little movement isn't going to kill me."

"It'll just cause excruciating pain."

"I'm on medication for that, remember?"

"And you'll have to be on that medication that much longer because you'll be opening up your wound."

"I think I would notice that."

"And then what will you do? Think 'Hey! Sita was right!' while you bleed all over the place? Why don't you just concede that before you do yourself more harm?"

Tellot groused for another minute but couldn't come up with any additional arguments against staying in bed. He usually wasn't successful when debating his sister and that was when he was after something he wanted. He didn't know why he was so adamant about getting up. It wasn't as if he had anywhere to go. Upon his injury, the Cesarian had revised the plan so that all Tellot should have to do was play the innocent victim until the summit was over. It would be easy. Lie in bed all day and let the nurses take care of him.

Except the nurses weren't the only ones taking care of him; Marqesita had to help out too.

And that was why he wanted to get up and get out. He couldn't stand her charity. He didn't deserve it. Every kind word she had for him and every cross word she directed at Bennor was another knife to his gut.

And it was hurting him worse than anything that stupid assassin did when he screwed up the fake attack. What he was doing to Marqesita and Bennor was intentional.

The Cesarian had told him everything was going to be okay. It was one of many things the Cesarian had told him. Once he was king, Tellot could pardon Bennor and give Marqesita a position in parliament. Wouldn't that be perfect? And Tellot had to be king. Bennor was too isolationist to move the country forward. Marqesita, no matter how good a queen she might become, would still be a queen. The other nations of Gaea would never give her the respect she was due. It was a shame, but that's how it was. Didn't he see that?

Tellot had told the Cesarian he understood. He just wanted what was best for Egzardia. And he knew there was some truth to what the Cesarian had said.

But another truth Tellot was coming to understand was that the Cesarian might not be good for Egzardia at all. And the longer Tellot went on with this, the deeper he'd be in the Cesarian's debt. Tellot wasn't the shrewdest man in the world, especially when it came to politics, but he knew the man was after more rewards for his help than the favorable trade deals they'd discussed.

It had seemed so simple. He'd get the crown without Egzardia being dragged through a long succession battle and then he and the Parliament could run things just like Father had. The only sacrifices were blows to Marqesita and Bennor's reputations that would be hushed up in the name of the greater good.

He ran a finger over the edge of his bandages. One mistake had already been made. He could have died from it. What if other mistakes were going to be made? Who would get hurt by them?

As Marqesita brought him some tea, drizzling the ample amounts of honey he liked into the cup, he began to feel that he'd already made the biggest mistake of all.

0-0-0-0

Still floating from his day with Millerna, Dryden forgot to check his mood at the door when he stopped by the Fassa estate. He didn't notice his mother's unrelenting frown as she followed him around the kitchen while he gathered up snacks and babbled about foreign doctors. He gave his father a friendly wave when Meiden entered the kitchen and demanded to know who was making all that noise.

He got a clue to tone it down when Meiden crossed his arms and gave him a glare that had been known to cause massive shifts in markets around the world from the fear it instilled in the other merchants misfortunate enough to catch sight of it.

Dryden gulped down the small piece of fruit that suddenly felt as large as the whole tree it had been picked from. "Sorry, didn't think I was being that noisy."

Meiden couldn't stay angry at his son. Dryden wasn't the source of his real irritation anyway. "When you're stuck in one spot all the time, you can't help but hear every little noise. I thought it might be one of those damn guards skulking about. They're very good at that."

Meiden had a lot more to say about those guards and Dryden listened to every word. His mother however, had been hearing nothing but so she left to do some quilting that absolutely could not wait.

Meiden finished his rant by slamming his first against the cutting board Dryden had gotten out. Chunks of fruit leapt up into the air and fell back down, some missing the board and sliding to the floor.

"I knew Eries was cold, but I never suspected she would go this far!"

"Uh, huh." Dryden avoided elaboration by bending over to retrieve the errant bits of fruit.

"And I can't believe Grava fell for it!"

"Yep…"

"Everyone always thought she was the odd princess out, but I've always had a suspicion that she was Grava's favorite. He's indulged her more than the others."

Dryden stood up. He was out of fruit to pick up and he really wanted to hear this. "Seriously?"

Meiden huffed as if it were self-explanatory. "He gave her a seat on the council. He's turned down countless offers for her hand. And now he's taking her word over mine."

"She is family…family with evidence."

"Forged evidence! Don't tell me you believe her lies!"

"Well…"

"Dryden!"

This was going to be a long, delicate explanation. "I don't get the sense that she is lying. I don't think you're lying either but…I don't know what's going on. She's not acting guilty or anything and I don't care what he nickname is. Eries is not cold enough to frame you then look me in the face like nothing's wrong. She's not. But I know you too. I know your fake indignation when you're trying to argue a price or get some political thing through. This isn't it."

"I'm glad it's all so clear to you." Despite the scathing sarcasm, Meiden took some comfort in the fact that his son did believe in him. If only Dryden would stop believing in Eries then everything would be perfect. Well, better. For everything to be perfect, _everyone_ would have to stop believing in Eries.

First Dryden, then the world. "What makes you think Eries is so trustworthy? You've no idea how conniving she can be. Perhaps I ought to tell you how I secured your engagement to Millerna."

"Oh, please, Dad. You yourself just said you didn't think she was that cold…And what are you talking about with my engagement to Millerna?"

Meiden didn't tell him straight away. He took a moment to chuckle to himself. It was the first laugh he'd had since that Caeli had shown up at his office. "Do you remember that Allen Schezar was facing treason charges when he returned from his little jaunt to Freid?"

"Those charges were crap and everybody knew it. That's why they were dropped."

Oh, this was good. Meiden laughed harder. "The charges were dropped because Eries promised to get Millerna to marry you. If I hadn't agreed to her demands, you wouldn't have an estranged wife to be pining after."

"Eries did…" Dryden was speechless. Sure, the deal looked great for him but the idea that there had been a deal at all was hard to conceive. Eries trading her own sister's hand in marriage to get a friend's name cleared – that was cold, but was it cold enough to mean she was capable of what Meiden was suggesting?

"Yes, she did. And now that she's out of siblings to marry off, she's graduated to bigger methods."

"I think this is different." Dryden was still reeling but his world view hadn't gotten so dizzy he'd let attacks against Eries' character go undefended. "Allen wasn't really guilty anyway and he could have been executed if convicted. This is setting somebody else up in the opposite direction."

"Oh yes, yes, it's completely different," Meiden goaded. "The first she did to save the man she loves and the second she did to damn the man she hates. Gods, boy, you can be naïve."

"And you can be really cynical. What's your proof anyway?"

"My proof is that she has proof. Since I didn't do anything, such proof has to be manufactured! Is it really that hard to follow?"

"Who says she's the one who manufactured it?"

Dryden could only recall a handful of times through his life when he'd been able to get his father to shut up. He'd just added one to the tally. Meiden froze, as he knew the obvious response of 'who else?' would be met by Dryden asking him to think about it.

Who else indeed… Meiden had made his fair share of enemies but none of them possessed the ability to pull off a stunt like this. Whoever had forged his handwriting on the few documents Grava had allowed him to see was the best of the best. Meiden would have thought it was his own pen if he hadn't known for a fact he hadn't written a word of that garbage. Quality like that didn't only cost money, it required high level connections to even know that it exists. It also required access to the palace to be able to plant the papers in his office as well as extensive knowledge of his schedule for the past few months to make the timeline look convincing.

His rival merchants might have one piece of that puzzle but he could think of no one who would be able to get all three. Meiden didn't exactly put out a welcome mat in front of his office nor did he advertise when he was going out of town.

If Dryden had meant to make him reconsider, his son was going to be disappointed. Thinking of who else could have done it only convinced Meiden further that Eries was the only one who could.

Dryden accused him of not even trying. "You're really saying that Eries – and only Eries – could get a hold of a forger, figure out your schedule and get into the palace? Jeez, no wonder you're such a successful merchant if your rivals are so weak."

"What motive would they have anyway? For the sake of Asturia, this is all going to be covered up and if Grava thinks I'm guilty the worst he'll do is take away my seat on the council with some speech about how I've retired from politics to focus on my business. The other merchants don't stand to gain enough to take such a large risk. Only someone who wants my political influence killed would do this!"

"Oh, fine, be all logical." That was the stickler. Dryden was going by hunches and personal feelings whereas his father was arguing the facts. But Dryden wasn't going to discount his feelings. His instincts had carried him this far and there were worst places in life to be at than being a filthy rich merchant with a beautiful maybe-girlfriend-kinda-wife. There had to be a way for both the feelings and facts to be right.

Meiden was never going to help him find out how. And one thing Dryden was sure of was that he was going to need help with this. Somebody out there had to be objective; somebody other than him had to care more about the truth than what these lies were getting them.

Somebody, somewhere. Was Eries that somebody? Finding out the reason why Millerna had agreed to marry him was a blow to his trust (not to mention his ego) but it hadn't erased that trust so much as smudged it up a little. Still, how hard was she likely to work to prove Meiden innocent after working so hard to prove him guilty? Gathering up evidence wasn't exactly her job.

But it was the job of a friend of hers: Alucier Maerzen. You could always trust a Caeli to do his duty even if he didn't want to. It was in their rule book or something.

Dryden bade his father goodbye. He had to go to the palace and find himself a knight.

0-0-0-0

Dryden could afford to take his time. Alucier had other business he was attending to just now.

Bennor would have been happy to tell him to leave but the attorney had been pretty insistent that cooperating with the investigation could only be beneficial if he was innocent. Bennor hadn't been too keen on how the lawyer had emphasized 'if'.

Besides, cooperating meant he could stare at something other than the walls of his quarters for a while. They were in a private meeting room – one formally used by the king if the collection of expensive knickknacks filling up the bookshelves built up around the fireplace on the south wall were any indication. With Egzardia's warm climate, Bennor wasn't used to fireplaces being in every room. He didn't want to get used to them either.

So he had listened to his lawyer and was being a good boy by listening to the Caeli's questions too even as he wondered what god he had ticked off to have destiny assign Marqesita's boyfriend to the role as inquisitor.

"Look, all I want to know is who came up with the plan: you or Meiden?" Alucier asked for the fifth time. It seemed like the hundredth and he only knew it wasn't because he'd been keeping count.

Bennor answered for the fifth time, "I only met with Fassa a few times to discuss having a voting alliance during the summit. We didn't have enough mutual goals to go through with it. I didn't speak with him again. I don't like wasting my time on something so futile."

"But his itinerary –"

" – Cleary shows he met with me in Egzardia. Yes, you've pointed this out. But you don't seem to grasp that his itinerary is wrong. I never met with him on those dates. Maybe he met with another Egzardian royal and got confused."

His original inclination to dislike Bennor returned to Alucier in full force. The little jerk had to know that trying to foist the blame on Marqesita would only antagonize Alucier yet that's all he was doing. Antagonize, antagonize, antagonize.

Alucier took a deep breath. He was to be a knight of honor here, not a protective…whatever he was to Marqesita. "There's no evidence your sister was involved in any of this."

"It would have been rather stupid of her to include evidence against herself while planting the evidence against me, don't you think?" The lawyer raised a hand in caution which Bennor verbally smacked away. "Will you use your brain for once? What could possibly be my motive? I have everything I need to keep Tellot and Sita off the throne. I don't need to kill them. Sita, on the other hand, has no such ammunition against me. But look! Now she does! Isn't that such an amazing coincidence!"

The lawyer tried translating the theatrics into a more palatable explanation for a formal investigation but Bennor wasn't about to be tamed. "Admit it! I have no motive but Sita has every motive in the world! But who am I kidding? You'd never turn her in. Our laws don't allow conjugal visits for attempted murderers."

Bennor was very, very lucky that restraint was a quality ingrained in a knight Caeli. Otherwise, he might have suffered a similar fate to the pen Alucier was holding, which was currently snapped into two pieces and leaking ink across Alucier's white gloves.

He calmly tossed it aside. Bennor and the lawyer watched the pen pieces as they rolled towards them still bleeding ink.

"Perhaps we've gone over enough for the day," the lawyer suggested.

Alucier spoke as if nothing was out of the ordinary. "I thought we agreed on an hour?"

"Yes, well…" The pieces were still now. The lawyer picked them up to prevent ink puddles from forming on the document detailing the evidence against Bennor. "It's been a very…_intense_…session. If we come back tomorrow, we will be more refreshed."

"I'm good," Alucier pronounced. "What about you?"

The lawyer stammered out an answer despite it being clear he was not the person being questioned. Alucier stared at Bennor and vice versa, neither man willing to be the first to give in.

"You have to do as I say?" Bennor asked his lawyer.

"Within reason…"

"Go."

"But –"

"I'll finish this session without you."

This fell out of the range of what the lawyer considered within reason but he wasn't going to contradict his orders. He'd had plenty of high-ranking nobles as clients over the years and a few foreigners but he'd never had to deal with the combination of the two before. Gods willing, he'd never have to do it again either.

He told Bennor he'd stay around the palace in case he was needed and left the two men alone.

"Is this the part where you point out how I'm hurting myself by being so disrespectful?" Bennor said.

"No, I think you're smart enough to know that without me telling you. I do have more pens in case you need a demonstration."

"I'd think such a threat would be against your code."

"Our code," Alucier spelled out clearly, "specifies that we protect the honor of all women. You know, like a father or husband or a _brother_ would do."

Bennor snorted. "Sita has honor?"

Alucier had been lying about the spare pens. Right now he wished he hadn't because something needed to be snapped and Bennor's neck was an awfully tempting option.

"How could you even say that about your sister?"

"She's framing me for trying to kill our brother! What am I supposed to do? Write it off as a lighthearted prank amongst siblings?"

They were back to this again. Alucier wasn't surprised. Bennor hadn't budged an inch on proclaiming his innocence. It was disconcerting how sincere those proclamations were. Bennor was either a very good actor or…

"All right. Let's concede for a moment that someone is setting you up. It's not Princess Marqesita. There's no evidence for it and her actions before and during the summit are well accounted for. Who did it then?"

This was ridiculous to Bennor. Who else would have done it? The Caeli was covering for Sita and would keep on covering regardless of how guilty she was. He didn't see any point in this exercise other than trying to find other people to pin the crime on in case the false evidence against him fell through.

_Making me do his dirty work. _Advice or no advice, Bennor wasn't going to play along. "There is nobody else who would stand to gain from accusing me."

"Nobody?"

In the most patronizing tone he could muster, Bennor listed all the other possible suspects. "Well, Tellot does want the crown too. Maybe he hired an assassin to kill him so he could blame me for it! He is pretty dense and might not have realized you can't rule when you're dead. Then there are my father's children by his second wife. They're young but I tell you, little Arasia is a crafty six-year-old. The plots she comes up with when playing with her dolls would befuddle the cleverest of investigators!"

It was less irritating than his insinuations about Marqesita, mostly because Alucier thought Bennor was trying too hard to shift the blame off himself and onto his sister. But he would play along. "What about your parliament? From what Marqesita tells me, they'd much prefer that Tellot gets the throne. But since you'd be able to eliminate him from succession, they'd need some way to eliminate you to get their way."

"Yes, they do want Tellot, but again, he has to be alive for him to rule. Parliament would realize that."

"Maybe they thought with the three of you eliminated, they could install one of your younger siblings and really seize control."

"That's…" Bennor couldn't specify what it was. He'd been too smug to just give in and admit it sounded plausible.

Alucier thought about it too. He hadn't meant to so thoroughly assume the role of Devil's Advocate, but now that he had, he was getting into it. "What would happen if all three of you were eliminated from succession?"

"Exactly what you said, but I doubt that would work to their favor, at least not for long. Next in line is my brother Settim. He's only thirteen but he's already smarter than Tellot. And Father's been grooming him for military command since he realized all my years at military school weren't leading there. Settim's very keen on bring a strong leader. Parliament might push him around for a year or two, but when he's solidified his power – with help from his older siblings of course – Parliament would wish they'd never seen him."

Were it anyone other than Tellot, Alucier would automatically have dismissed the notion that Parliament would prefer the adult to the child. But it was Tellot and Alucier was getting the feeling again that Bennor was being honest.

Something was missing, something large. His instincts had to be off somewhere, whether it was listening to Bennor now or not catching a clue before. Alucier recalled everything he could about Tellot's attack, but came up empty. If only they'd been able to capture the assassin alive. But the man had been such a professional, he hadn't allowed for that.

_He'd been such a professional…_

Alucier didn't care much for knives; he much preferred their big brothers, swords. But other knights used them, efficiently too. Revius could hit a small spider on the wall from across the room without much effort.

Revius was a professional. He rarely missed his target and even then, he came damn close. If he were aiming for a large, drunken man who wasn't even aware of his presence, there was no way Revius would ever miss.

But the assassin had. So steeped in his training, he'd killed himself rather than be caught, but somehow, he'd only managed to give his target a superficial wound? Was he out sick the day they had the lesson on killing easy targets at Assassin School?

"Tellot was never meant to die…" Alucier concluded aloud.

Bennor processed this new theory. He didn't know how Alucier had arrived at it, but it made so much sense, he didn't care. He'd believed Marqesita capable of framing him without any qualms but the part about having to kill Tellot to do it had nagged at him. Now her Caeli boyfriend had given him the perfect explanation.

He'd given him two perfect explanations actually. Parliament did want power; they craved it. Maybe they were behind it. Maybe Marqesita was as innocent as the Caeli claimed.

Alucier _had_ given him the benefit of the doubt.

Maybe it was time to suck up his smugness and resentment and get to the truth.

"Find my sister," he told Alucier. "Bring her here. I think it's time we talked."

0-0-0-0

When Alucier went to fetch Marqesita, he ran into Allen and Eries, newly arrived back from their trip out to the Schezar estate, instead. Eries was eager to talk as was Alucier, but their subject matters couldn't be further apart. They all agreed they should go somewhere private to speak though and headed for Eries' quarters.

"There's something I need to tell you, something I should have told you before," Eries started as soon as the door was closed.

"Yeah, I might have some news too, but I kind of wanted to see Sita first."

"It's something about you and Marqesita?" Eries was a bit puzzled but could appreciate the odd symmetry of her confession about her relationship with Allen coinciding with a similar announcement about Alucier and Marqesita.

"Uh, no," Alucier answered quickly. What was Eries thinking? He still wanted to talk to Marqesita to get her thoughts first, but it sounded like he needed to give a good explanation to get away first. "I've been talking with Bennor and I think there's chance – a small chance, mind you – that he didn't do anything."

Now Eries was completely confused. "But the documents you found in Meiden's office confirmed that –"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know all the confirmation we have, but talking to the guy… He's a huge jerk, no question, but I didn't get the feeling that he's a guilty huge jerk. There's something going on here, a lot more than we realized. For one, I don't think anybody actually tried to kill Tellot; they just made it look like they did."

"But the assassin…" Eries was at a loss. This was too much information.

He might as well tell her everything now. Alucier talked her through it by questioning Allen. "When you went after the guy, how skilled did you think he was?"

"Skilled enough to evade capture. I managed to cut his leg but it took a few attempts. And then once I had him, he didn't hesitate to turn his knife on himself."

"So this guy was really good if he was dodging attacks from the most skilled Caeli we have and he was really dedicated if he was willing to commit suicide over capture."

Allen nodded. Alucier's point was coming into focus.

"But we all saw Tellot before the attack. He was drunk. He was out all by himself. He was as vulnerable as a newborn practically."

The point clicked for Eries as well. "But our highly skilled assassin only gave him a flesh wound."

"Exactly."

And it kept clicking. "And Tellot wouldn't be eliminated from succession by getting hurt. If anything, it would endear him to his people more."

"Exactly."

There was another click. "So whoever set up the attack actually wanted Tellot on the throne. The whole thing was a set-up to ensure that Bennor wouldn't get the crown because he's the only sibling with a clear history."

Alucier refrained from another 'exactly'. He hadn't gotten that far in his chain of thought, though now that Eries had said it, it felt true enough to warrant one.

There was one conclusion left to be drawn. Eries was too reluctant to make it after so vehemently arguing in the opposite direction and Alucier was too mentally exhausted to go further.

"So," Allen concluded for the both of them, "that means the evidence the indicated Bennor's guilt is false and since it's the same evidence that proves Meiden Fassa's guilt…." He had the decency to pause and let it sink in before saying it aloud and irrevocably. "That means Meiden Fassa isn't guilty either."

Technically it only meant they couldn't use that evidence to prove Meiden's guilt, but Eries, even at her deepest level of distaste for the merchant, wouldn't say so. It just wouldn't work. If Meiden were guilty while Bennor was innocent, nothing would stop Meiden from selling out his real accomplice once he was caught. Unless there was another level to the plan in place and…

She stopped right there. This mess was complicated enough without trying to force a guilty Meiden into the equation. The simplest explanation was often the best and in this case, it was the explanation that jibed with what Dryden and Aston had been saying all along.

She hated being wrong but she'd hate herself period if she allowed a grudge to enable her to dismiss the truth just to get a rival.

"I'm sorry, Eries. This is partly my fault," Allen said. He'd brought his hand up to his brow as if this was truly distressing him.

"Allen, please. I can't stand Meiden but you don't have to-"

"I knew there was something off about those papers I got from Meiden's office! They were just too conveniently placed, too conveniently revealing. I should have said something, warned you…"

She grabbed his hand and cupped it in her own. Alucier gawked at the clasped hands for a moment then shook his head. What else had he missed?

"I wouldn't have listened," Eries said. "I was determined to prove Meiden guilty that I ignored anything that contradicted the theory. I specifically asked Dryden for his opinion then threw it aside because I didn't like it."

"I'd like to think I have more sway with you than Dryden…"

Eries smiled. "Of course, but I think in this instance, I would have been more stubborn than Celena. And I know about how often you win those battles."

"Well, we have the truth now. At least, some of it… We'll just have to be more open –"

"Okay, all right, enough," Alucier interrupted. "If you gaze into each other's eyes while holding hands anymore, I'm…I'm going to do _something_!"

The two turned to their confused friend. "Oh, right," Eries said. "Remember that we told you that we have something to tell you?"

0-0-0-0

Two bombshells in one night – Alucier was beginning to feel a little rattled. Now he was going to spread that feeling around by bringing Marqesita up to speed. It was slow going as she insisted that Tellot by tucked in first and then once Alucier started talking she kept interrupting him by asking him if he was serious which led to round of head nodding by Alucier, Eries and Allen to confirm that yes, he was quite serious.

"I just…I mean, it makes sense…but are you sure? You have no proof that your proof is wrong. But it would mean Bennor really didn't try to hurt Tellot…"

That part alone seemed to warm Marqesita to the idea. She'd never gotten along with Bennor very well and generally thought of him as an annoyance, but he was still her brother.

But that left the question of who really did set up Tellot's attack. When Alucier offered Egzardia's parliament as a suspect that brought more relief to Marqesita. Nobody in her family had tried to kill anybody else in her family. It was a strange thing to be grateful for but in a royal family, one never could tell.

Plus, if Parliament really was behind it, their power would be cut down considerably once their schemes were exposed. And since Parliament was her main obstacle to the crown…

That could wait. She wanted to confirm as much as she could. That meant a nice long talk with Bennor while eating a fairly large portion of crow. Admitting she was wrong wasn't a favorite activity but she knew Bennor enjoyed it even less – and he'd have his own portion to chew on.

"All right," she said, "let's go talk to Bennor. Is there anything else I need to know before we get there?"

Alucier glanced aside to Allen and Eries. Ten minutes ago they'd admitted they were in a relationship and then promptly sworn him to secrecy. They were standing there, innocent as could be, as if he'd only imagined what they'd told him.

_We're only telling our closest friends. We're not prepared to tell anyone beyond that, especially our families. You understand the difficulties with that?_

Alucier understood the difficulties perfectly fine. He wasn't sure Eries and Allen had a firm grasp of them or else they wouldn't have bothered going down a path that might end in true love or a royal proclamation declaring Allen's new home for the rest of his life would be a damp hole in the palace basement.

But who was he to judge? Some feelings cannot be fought, no matter how logical it is to not have them in the first place. He looked at Marqesita, still awaiting her answer, and understood that maybe those difficulties don't matter in the end.

"Nope," Alucier said. "I think I've said everything. What about you two?"

Eries was taken by momentary surprise but recovered and simply said, "Perhaps later."

"Okay…" Marqesita was puzzled why they'd withhold information for later but was so eager to get this mystery resolved she didn't press it. "I'll send a nurse to look after Tellot and have her tell him I went out for a night on the town with you. The less he knows about this the better. He's never had a head for politics and I can't imagine how horrified he'd be to know the depths some people can sink to get their way."

0-0-0-0

Timing, as they say, is everything and Dryden was able to complete his perfect day by stumbling upon the very Caeli he was looking for after less than five minutes in the palace. That the Caeli was accompanied by the two princesses it would be helpful to see was a bonus. Allen's presence didn't really serve a function but it wasn't like he'd get in the way either.

Eries wasn't quite as happy to see Dryden. She'd planned on sharing the new, Meiden-exonerating theory with him as soon as possible but she'd defined possible as being when they had that new theory set in stone. Rushing to judgment hadn't been such a good move where the first batch of evidence was concerned. But now that Dryden was here and very keen on arguing his father's innocence, Eries wasn't going to string him along.

Dryden listened to the new theory with increasing amazement. When she finished, he was downright floored. "And here I had doubts about whether I could get you to be impartial. I never dreamed you'd go the extra step to clear my old man."

He hadn't meant the compliment to be so backhanded but Eries was compelled to be defensive. "My primary interest has always been to find the truth. I only believed your father was guilty because the evidence before suggested it. And now that we have reason to believe that evidence is false, I'm willing to concede my error."

"Would you concede it to my father's face?"

"He'll find out about it when he gets the court papers," she said coolly. There were limits to her sense of fairness and a big one was having to watch Meiden gloat. And he would gloat. A lot. For a long time.

Dryden, however, was willing to let his poor attempt at a joke drop so they could set about getting to this all important truth.

Bennor was fiddling with a puzzle box when the group returned to the king's old meeting room. The box was antique and the challenge seemingly simple: just align the slats on all four sides in a certain manner and it would pop open. No one had opened it in years and Bennor wasn't close to changing that.

He didn't stop trying as the group filtered in and the guard Alucier had assigned to Bennor filed out. Dryden mentioned he'd had a similar puzzle box as a kid and offered to help out.

"Were you able to solve it?" Bennor asked.

"Eh, not exactly, but I did get three of the sides to click into place once."

"In other words, no."

"Bennor…" Marqesita started to chastise her brother but rethought her approach. "Alucier told me about your discussion earlier. I want to believe it but first I need to hear something from you."

She didn't need to say what it was. Close or not, Bennor and Marqesita were still family and he knew what she wanted to hear. It was the same thing he wanted to hear from her. "I swear on our father's soul that I had nothing to do with the attack on Tellot."

Marqesita nodded and made the same vow.

It was a solemn moment broken only by Dryden muttering, "Soul? I heard the guy was sick but I thought the king of Egzardia was still alive?"

Looks were exchanged between brother and sister. Marqesita had already admitted to the king's death to others while Bennor had kept it secret. Of course, he didn't exactly have anybody in Asturia to confide in. But the vow he and Marqesita had made wasn't to be taken lightly. He never considered that she might be lying. Attacking a sibling was one thing; damning their father's soul for eternity by playing false witness upon it was another.

So the trust Marqesita had earned extended to her friends. "You were mistaken. Our father passed away shortly after the summit began."

"I'm sorry for your loss. I can't imagine the strain you all have been under," Dryden said and the others hastened to offer their condolences as well. Just because they were being so honest and open about the Tellot situation didn't mean they had to be honest about everything.

"His death won't be announced until the summit is over," Marqesita explained. "Once we come back, it will be 'leaked' that the king's health has taken a turn for the worse and then a few days later, the official proclamation will come out. Then the fight over succession begins."

"I believe," Bennor said with a snort, "that the fight has already started."

Dryden, still the outsider, asked why the crown wouldn't automatically go to Tellot. "He is the first born son. That's pretty much all that counts in these things."

Another round of significant looks passed between Bennor and Marqesita. Again, she had already told others the biggest secrets but perhaps it was for the best if they all came out in the open in front of everyone.

"Tellot is illegitimate," Marqesita started after getting a nod of approval from Bennor. "Father always treated him as his son and intended for him to get the crown but Bennor and I have the right to challenge that. And that was our intention. Tellot's just not the brightest star in the sky and Parliament would push him around easily."

"So then it goes to Bennor, right?" Dryden asked.

"Wrong!" Dryden jumped back a little at how forcefully Marqesita had declared that. "Sorry," she apologized, "but Egzardia is not like Asturia. We value our princesses as more than bait to get a nice prince. I would be next in line. However…"

Eries and Bennor were the only two people who knew what came after that. Marqesita didn't feel like expanding that number, especially not in front of Alucier. She'd thought about telling him someday but that wasn't happening under these circumstances.

Bennor, in an unusual act of kindness, did not speak for her. He glossed over Marqesita's problem with succession by explaining that Parliament had issues with her without offering what those issues were. "The crown would then pass to me and there are no grounds upon which to eliminate me from contention."

Alucier was about to ask why Parliament didn't have the same issues with him but Eries shushed him. Dryden, sitting across the room, missed the shushing and felt free to ask, "So how come they can eliminate Marqesita from succession but they have to set up this elaborate plot to get you?"

For the second time, Bennor was uncharacteristically generous. "Those issues I spoke of are personal and I'm not involved in them. They're excuses really."

"Excuses you would have used yourself," Alucier pointed out.

"Excuses I will still use if I have to."

There went the generosity of spirit Marqesita had been enjoying. At least Bennor was acting like his typical self. She had been starting to wonder who the stranger who looked like her brother was. Then it hit her – he was being vague because he still wanted to use what happened with Tavas against her.

That was the little brother she was used to; she could deal with him. "We're getting off track. Parliament is our primary suspect and we need to find a way to prove it, preferably without using planted evidence."

Alucier bristled at the mention of the fake evidence that he'd fallen for completely. He'd done so much work – tracking down witnesses, sneaking into this place and that – and it had all been arranged for him. "The witness I interviewed!" he said suddenly.

For a seeming non-sequitur, everyone understood what he meant and were ready to act on it.

"We need to find that Vint person," Allen said. "And find out who he really works for."

Alucier was hoping he would get the pleasure of finding the liar. That man owed him the truth, not to mention some gold coins. But as much as a priority as the mysterious Vint was, there were other avenues that could be pursued first. "I also spoke to a barmaid and a woman who lived near Tuvello's who 'witnessed' the whole thing. I'm not sure if the barmaid was a plant but that woman obviously was. Either one should be easy to track down."

"So we go after the easier to find accomplices first," Eries concluded. "We should do it soon before the real conspirators hear of our change in suspects."

Everyone agreed and Alucier was out the door a moment later. The barmaid worked nights and the other woman was likely to be home. He'd go visit them both and place them in protective custody. It might alert the conspirators that their plans had been partially uncovered and drive Vint deeper into hiding but it was worth the risk to secure both women as witness. It wasn't as if finding Vint was going to be a simple task anyway. The little extra challenge might be good for him. He felt a need to prove himself after falling so thoroughly for the bait that had been set out for him.

Those remaining in the meeting room doled out the rest of the task. Dryden was to go to his family's estate and grill Meiden on whom he had dealt with in Egzardia's parliament. If he could identify his enemies in that organization (and Eries was sure he had some), it might make their search easier.

There had been far too much serious business going on in the room and Dryden couldn't resist making a barb on the way out. "So, Eries, should I tell Dad to expect to see you tomorrow so you can beg forgiveness?"

She didn't miss a beat. "I don't think that would wise, Dryden. As we decided, your father will have to remain under house arrest so as not to arouse suspicion. I'm afraid any visit by me to Meiden would have the same deleterious effect."

"Ah, gotcha. I'll tell him you send him your love though."

"I would think Fassa would try to send it back," Bennor grumbled, leaving Dryden to wonder if maybe, just maybe, there was a sense of humor lurking somewhere within the Egzardian prince.

He didn't miss any glimpses of that humor by leaving because Bennor immediately returned to being completely serious. "I think Tellot should be questioned as to whether any Parliament members have approached him about succession. If he's their choice, they must be making attempts to groom him into their perfect puppet."

"Do we really want to get him involved in this in his condition?"

"Sita, they might not have been trying to kill him but he did get stabbed. I think he'd want to be aware of who did that to him. I'd certainly want to know who's been doing me harm."

Marqesita relented but not without conditions. "I'm not sure we can do anything tonight. He's already gone to sleep for the night and his medicines make him so groggy. And we'll have to be careful in how we explain it to him."

"Yes, I know. Single syllable words only. I'll draw some pictures too."

Eries decided her best course of action was to: one, leave Marqesita and Bennor to finish squabbling by themselves and two, consult her father. Aston had a right to know he'd been right about Meiden and she wanted to hear his advice. Alucier wasn't the only one unsettled by being wrong.

And she had to be right from here on out. A person willing to go to the extremes they'd gone to in order to manipulate Egzardia's succession wasn't willing to let world politics pass them by. They'd already tried to take out Meiden and as praiseworthy as that might be under different circumstances, all it proved was that Asturia was in their sights too.

0-0-0-0

"It's getting late, Eries," Aston's voice said through his bedroom door. "Couldn't this wait until tomorrow?"

"It's about Meiden."

Eries heard a sigh. "What are you accusing him of now?"

"Oh, Father…" Eries went into her father's room without permission. She wasn't going to play this game through a door and what she had to tell him shouldn't be said out in the hallway.

"Come right in," Aston scoffed. He waived at her to come further in anyway. He hadn't gotten much sleep the night before because of the mess with Meiden and was overtired tonight. He thought he could use Eries' help in getting ready for bed.

"I'm not accusing Meiden of anything. In fact, I came here to tell you that I think he's innocent now."

Aston was glad she had come in though that feeling lessened when he noticed Allen standing by the doorway behind her. He didn't waive at him to move closer.

Eries explained the new theory to Aston and how they'd come up with. He agreed it was sound and not just because it exonerated his friend. "It makes much more sense. Why would that Bennor boy kill when he can more easily defame? Royal fratricide has historically been sneakier than that anyway."

"Not that we Astons would know." Eries paused. "Correct?"

"As far as the history books are concerned. But we know who writes those."

"Father!" She hoped he was being overly cynical. Eries had always been proud to be an Aston; she didn't like the thought of an ancestor willfully hacking off branches of the family tree.

"Oh, ho," he laughed. "You think I'd be friends with a would-be murderer, but can't possibly picture yourself coming from such stock."

"Our family tradition has been one of dignified and compassionate rule."

"Yes, yes. But every now and then we have to let someone with a lesser pedigree in. We'd all be hunchbacked idiots otherwise." Aston couldn't help himself and chose that moment to look over towards the door. _At least there aren't any hunchbacks in the Schezar family._

Eries didn't know what the grimace her father had just made meant and she didn't ask. "I didn't come here to dredge through our family history. Neither did I come to hear you say 'I told you so' in regards to Meiden though I admit I deserve it. I wanted…" She faltered. She wasn't sure what she wanted from him.

"It's hard, isn't it, making the life and death decisions? Harder still when the last one you made was wrong. But that's why not just any man can be king. Our blood my give us the opportunity to rule but it can't ensure we'll stay there when we fail. That would be where the royal fratricide we were talking about comes in."

He raised his hand to quell the horrified gasp Eries was about to make. "I jest…mostly. It's never had to go that far that I know because we have our council in place to reign in our less notable kings. Then when the next strong king takes the crown, he puts the council in its place until they need to get pushy again. It's not a terrible way to run a country though the Egzardian parliament seems to be in a rush to push the cycle forward whether their country needs it or not."

Eries considered the flow from strong ruler to weak and the corresponding power of councils and parliaments. It was natural rhythm, borne of necessity and shifting according to the strength of the wills of those involved. In Egzardia's rhythm, she was not truly involved.

"You think I should stay out of Egzardia's business. I should let Marqesita handle it."

"Feel free to participate in the investigation and it is your obligation to hand over the results. But you have to be objective. Your goal can't be to help your friend. And if those results are in her favor, it's up to her to do what she will with them. It's her country. If she's the strongest ruler, she'll prove it on her own. How would it look it to her subjects she got the crown only because her Asturian friend got in the middle of things? I don't think they'd care for a queen whose crown bears a foreign taint."

"I have no intention of making her indebted to me!" Eries gasped. It was certainly not the intent of her alliance with Marqesita but with politics, intentions rarely counted for more than appearances. "I was trying to find out the truth behind the attack on Tellot!"

"And you were so eager to prove your theory you walked right into a trap. Someone was counting on you thinking the worst of Meiden and Bennor e' Egzard and not being able to resist sticking your nose in."

It stung but she wouldn't deny it. "So who in Egzardia's parliament would know me so well?"

"That, my dear, is the question. You told me Dryden was going to interrogate Meiden about his contacts. Meiden does know you well enough. If he shared his knowledge without knowing quite how much it would later cost him…"

"Meiden letting his preconceived notions be used against him."

"Yes, Eries, it does cut both ways." With that, Aston was through with his advice giving. Eries would have liked to talk more but he insisted he was too tired. He had Allen fetch his toiletries while Eries set out his dressing gown and clothes for tomorrow.

"Remember what I said, Eries," Aston instructed as she hugged him goodnight. Allen, back to his position at the door, gave a deep bow as his tidings for the king. Aston grunted at him in response, though to be fair, the grunt wasn't quite a guttural as some of Aston's other mutterings towards Allen.

"I think he's warming to you," Eries teased. Allen wouldn't go that far but said nothing to contradict Eries' lightened mood. Aston, despite of his personal problems with the man, was a good king. After listening in on his talk with Eries, Allen would concede Aston had his moments as a father as well.

0-0-0-0-0

The conversation amongst the Egzardians did not go as smoothly. It had started out awkwardly with Bennor nudging Tellot's shoulder over Marqesita's protests until the sleeping lummox woke up. That more or less set the tone.

Bennor did refrain from talking down too much to Tellot, though Marqesita didn't think the explanations as to how Parliament worked were really necessary.

Tellot listened to every word, each accusation piercing the fog created by the combination of being woken up and the lingering effects of his medication. He had to shake himself sometimes to throw off the stupor but it was very important that he caught every word. He knew the Cesarian would want to hear it verbatim when Tellot reported to him.

"Can you believe the nerve of Parliament?" Marqesita hissed when Bennor was through.

Tellot clutched a pillow to his chest and rested his chin on it. "No…it's hard for me to believe."

"Why?" Bennor demanded. "Because Parliament's always been so nice to you? They were fattening you up so they could pick you apart later. Why that wound of yours is nothing but them carving out a nice filet to feed upon."

Tellot didn't answer. He hugged the pillow closer to the point where it pressed on that wound. Even as soft as the pillow was, he winced at the small sting of pain that resulted. "So, umm, what are you two going to do? About Parliament, I mean."

"We're going to find who orchestrated that attack on you," Bennor said, "then we're going to strip them of last piece of power and exile them to the slums where they'll spend the rest of days wondering why they hadn't passed more laws to help the poor when they had the chance."

"No prison?" Marqesita asked. "Since when did you become so charitable?"

"Please, Sita. They're willing to interfere with succession in order to gain power. Letting live the rest of their lives as powerless as an Egzardian can be is worse than living in our prisons."

The punishment had an ironic quality Marqesita could appreciate while technically still being considered humane. For a brief second she was able to appreciate what a little weasel Bennor was. "What do you think, Tellot? How would you punish the people who did this to you?"

"I, uh…" Tellot wanted a bigger pillow, one so large he could crawl under it and not have to face the atypical concern of his siblings. If they'd been so nice to him from the beginning… "I don't know, Sita. Shouldn't we wait to think of punishments until after they've been convicted?"

"Aren't you level-headed," Bennor sneered. "Or is that the medication talking?"

That made Tellot feel slightly better. He eased up on his grip of the pillow and pled tiredness. "Can't we talk about this later? I need to get back to sleep."

They left him be but in the darkness of his empty room, sleep was the last thing on Tellot's mind – which was unfortunate because he knew he had to get up very, very early to try and to communicate with the Cesarian.

0-0-0-0

Four blocks down in Palas' most exclusive neighborhood, Meiden Fassa also was facing a long night awake. He, however, was celebrating.

Dryden tried to keep up with his father, even after his mother told them both to get to bed, but a steady stream of yawns greeted Meiden's cries of victory.

"Oh, how I wish I could have seen the look of her face."

Yawn. "Sure, Dad."

"Of course, she couldn't come out here herself to say she was wrong, but she can't avoid me forever."

Long yawn. "Eries had her reasons. And don't you think it's kind of childish to gloat so much?"

"That all depends on how I gloat. Subtle jabs dropped into conversions here and there can last me years. But if I wasted this karma on a single 'I told you so' then that would be classless."

Exasperated sigh. "Yes, clearly, _that_ would be classless."

"Shush, boy. I'm entitled to this."

This was debatable to Dryden. True, his father had been falsely accused but the only suffering he'd endured as a result was to spend two days at home. Since everything had been kept within a tight circle of confidences, no damage had been done to his reputation. He'd only missed one day at the summit. It was sort of hard to cry injustice over what amounted to a forced vacation.

Meiden wasn't having any problem with it though. "First thing tomorrow, I'm going back into that summit chamber –"

Uh, oh. This was where the problem began. "About that, Dad. You see, we discussed it and, well, you can't. The people who framed you are still out there and we can't have them knowing that we're on to them. So, um, you're going to have to stay put."

"Stay put?" His tone was so icy Dryden worried the chill might affect the taste of the brandy Meiden had in hand.

"Yeah, stay put. But we need you! We think Egzardia's parliament is behind this and we need for you to go over all the people you've dealt with there." Dryden punched his fist in the air. "You'll be a real help to the team!"

"The team?" Now Dryden worried that the brandy goblet might be meeting a wall at high-speed soon.

"You know, king and country and all that other good stuff. I assure you, your grudge against Eries will keep. Hey, it might be more fun when you do finally let into her if you let it fester for a while! But for now, you have to be a dutiful Asturian."

Brandy, particularly one as expensive as Meiden was drinking, was meant to be savored, each sip meant to roll across the tongue to gain the full experience of the flavor. Meiden gulped down all the remaining liquor in his glass with no regrets. He needed the alcohol because as much as he loathed it, Dryden was right.

"I have to sit here and rot because some bastard thought he could frame me while Eries, his thoroughly unwitting accomplice, gets to keep playing detective. You can see why this isn't fair."

From Meiden's point of view, yes, it was terribly unfair. But he didn't need to be such a pessimist. "Yeah, Dad, it sucks having to be cooped up in a huge mansion with every comfort of modern society at your fingertips but you're going to have to suck it up. Besides, you get to play detective too! Or more like detective's witness, but you'll be contributing!"

Meiden ignored his son, walking over to the liquor cabinet for a refill. He'd offer some to Dryden but he believed the boy must already be in an altered state of consciousness to be so relentlessly cheerful about all this. Liquor might make him perkier.

"To teamwork," was Meiden's sardonic toast.

0-0-0-0

Hours before dawn was not Tellot's ideal time to be waking up. In the past, he'd been able to stay up that late while indulging in a steady stream of women, food and drink but years of that behavior had the ironic effect of ensuring his early retirement from such hedonistic ways. Not even thirty yet and he was having trouble getting out of bed.

The knife wound wasn't helping. Neither was the need to be absolutely silent. Marqesita and Bennor were asleep in their quarters on either side of his room and there was sure to be a guard posted outside the sitting area that connected all three of them. He couldn't have anybody know what he was up to.

Unfortunately, his task required him to leave his room which meant the guard would have to know. Tellot thought of possible excuses while finishing up the note he was writing. In the end, he went with the most plausible explanation.

He left his room, quietly padding across the sitting area and peeked his head out the door to the hallway. The guard noticed him immediately.

"Hey," Tellot whispered, "could you do me a favor? I went to bed early and missed my evening snack. Could you go down to the kitchens and fetch me something? I'm not picky."

"I'm not supposed to leave my post, Sir."

"But I'm reeeeealy hungry." Using a trick that had always worked wonders with his mother, he added, "I'm feeling kind of faint."

The guard was torn. It was his duty to not move from this spot unless in the event of an emergency or when his relief showed up, whichever came first. But he also had a duty to serve his superiors. This involved running the occasional errand, usually of greater importance than a snack run but Tellot had complained of feeling faint. How would it look if the injured Egzardian prince passed out on his shift?

The kitchens weren't that far away. He could be gone and back in ten minutes. At this godforsaken hour, it was unlikely anybody would come by, let alone another assassin.

"Stay here, Sir, and lock the door behind you. I'll knock when I come back."

"You Asturians are the best! I'll put a good word in for you."

The guard would prefer if Tellot didn't mention this to anybody but he accepted Tellot's kind words with a nod. The sooner he'd left, the sooner he'd return.

Tellot shut and locked the door as told. After counting off thirty seconds, he unlocked and opened it. He looked both ways then set off.

He didn't have to go all the way to the Cesarians' quarters, he just needed to reach an alcove off the hallway right before them. Once there, he took out the note he'd written from under his nightshirt and stuffed it under the leaves of one of the plants that served as the alcove's decoration.

Each morning, the Cesarian came to that alcove to admire the plants there. He was such an enthusiast, he would bend over to take in the sweet smell of the small flowers that budded on the vines. A true botanist wouldn't then disturb the plants by rooting around under their leaves as if searching for something, but for the Cesarian, it was really just a hobby.

Tellot crept back to his room. He wasn't worried the guard would catch him. In that case, he would plead the altogether too believable excuse of ignorance. He actually hoped the guard would find him. After getting involved in these schemes and becoming a new and improved Clever Tellot, he wouldn't mind a return to the regular Dumb Tellot.

But even Dumb Tellot had the sense to know that things were not going to be that easy.

0-0-0-0

The Cesarian's morning routine went on without fail and the plants in the alcove yielded more than a pleasant fragrance. He unfolded Tellot's note, put it on top of the stack of his summit papers and read it at his leisure. No one suspected of him of a thing so there was no need to act suspicious.

_They know Bennor and Fassa didn't do it. They think Parliament did. They're all working together now. What should I do?_

The news was unexpected. He'd thought perhaps his opponents would figure it out eventually but the discovery had come sooner than he hoped. The forgeries had been excellent. The grudges they each held deep. He was curious how they had managed to look past all that mistrust and arrive at the truth – or somewhere in the truth's vicinity.

They were still after the wrong people – or in the perspective of the Cesarian, the right people – but he wasn't going to count on that lasting forever. He'd underestimated them once. He would not do so again.

He was not without contingency plans. One didn't get far in this business without a certain amount of flexibility in his thinking. Stage Two of the overall plan wasn't supposed to go into effect until later during the summit but the chaos he knew it would create would serve a better purpose now rather than later.

He'd have to meet with the Basramian, jot down explicit instructions for Tellot. He reconsidered the latter; he'd go to meet personally with Tellot in the guise of a delegate checking on the wellbeing of his fellow. As bothersome as it was dealing with Tellot at times, there were definite advantages. The oaf went beyond innocuous to lending the same air to all of those who dealt with him.

And while he met with Tellot, he'd send the Basramian on an errand. The Cesarian didn't like getting his hands dirty on the mundane tasks. They were the most traceable. This task normally wouldn't be classified as such, but it suited his purposes to do so. They needed a new assassin, preferably someone better than the last one.

After all, the assassination attempt on Tellot was a fake. This time, it would be quite real.

0-0-0-0

Next Up: They're all so close and next they'll take One Step Closer towards discovering schemes and planning them, towards getting deeper into relationships or moving away from them. Oh, and Allen throws a party.


	27. One Step Closer

Intrigues of a Princess

XXV: One Step Closer

The summit proceeded as usual the next morning. Meiden, Bennor and Tellot remained absent due to 'health reasons'. Delegates droned on and nitpicked each others' droning until a consensus could be reached or at least everyone agreed a consensus was possible. Eries and Dryden were both tired from the long night but a delegate looking drowsy wasn't anything out of the ordinary.

It was just another day. Or it was until the summit concluded for the day. Usually the delegates filtered out by country with the Asturians waiting for all their guests to leave before doing so themselves. Today though, there were two delegates who weren't in any hurry to go: Van Fanel and Nuri.

They waited for Eries at the door, not talking to each other and very clearly waiting until a third party to join them before they would start. This third party wasn't Dryden but that didn't stop him from striking up a conversation with Van.

"Hey, been a while since we saw each other. You know, other than this summit chamber. Palace gossip has it that you have nightly visits from the Mystic Moon."

Van never was all that comfortable around Dryden. He liked the merchant well enough and thought he had a good heart but he was too unpredictable. You never knew what he might say and how much it would make you blush.

Van's cheeks in the case turned a mild shade of red as he explained that he could see a manifestation of Hitomi's spirit if he focused on her pendant but it was only her spirit and a lot of these manifestations took place during the day.

"So it's just a few that take place at night, say in the privacy of your bed-"

"Dryden!" Eries interrupted none too soon. "If you're going to be Prince Regent, you should know to discount palace gossip." She leaned in closer to add, "And you should know not to tease visiting royalty."

"Oh, come on," Dryden whispered back. "It's Van." He waived at the young king, whose face was now starting to match the hue of the shirt he always used to wear.

Dryden apologized for going too far. "Asturians are a tiny bit more laid back about such things. I guess Fanelians are more modest." He turned to Nuri and asked, "And what are Freidians?"

"Un-amused."

"Ohh-kay then." Dryden had a suspicion as to why these two were hanging around and it wasn't to talk to him. He was curious about what Eries was up to (and he knew Meiden would love some inside information) but he'd poked around enough today. Enquiring about their actual business instead of just teasing Van might provoke Nuri into making an even more sour face and Dryden was worried that would cause the Freidian to pull a muscle or two. "You kids have fun," he called out over his shoulder as he left.

Nuri glanced at the retreating merchant. "Are you entirely sure that man is related to Meiden Fassa?"

"That's his mother story," Eries said. "But I doubt you two were waiting for me to discuss Dryden."

Van tipped his head towards the rear of the Grand Hall where Alucier was giving out instructions to a guard. "Actually, once we have more privacy, he is one of the things we would like to discuss."

"You don't have to worry about Alucier. He's sworn to secrecy."

This was not the reassurance to Nuri that Eries intended it to be. "Sworn to secrecy? Does that mean he already knows?"

"I…" Eries faltered. "I have told him some things. But he's as a brother to me! I place my utmost trust in him."

"Then you placed our trust in him without our permission as well."

Eries looked to Van to see if he would be any help. He wasn't as stern as Nuri but it was clear he wasn't satisfied by the way things had been going. "Okay, he's a Caeli and my experience with them says I shouldn't worry that you've been confiding in him. But it does bother me that you haven't been confiding in us."

Eries hadn't had much contact with Van since the night of the rooftop fight. As for Nuri, the only reason he'd been privy to her actions was because he'd invited himself to the dinner with Meiden. She could see why Fanel thought she was excluding him: she was.

She'd gone to all the effort to recruit these men and assure them she had their interests at heart and then she'd turned around and ignored them. That was not how she wanted it to be.

Eries apologized profusely and tried bringing them up to date. She didn't tell them everything – the guard Alucier was speaking to was maddeningly slow in comprehending his orders and still hadn't left – but neither man had trouble figuring out who her vague hints were referring to.

"So you had that lovely dinner to entrap an innocent man," Nuri remarked.

Eries didn't need to have it rubbed in. Besides, Nuri's own assessment of Meiden had been less than favorable. She quickly reminded him.

"I thought the man was insufferable with little integrity. I didn't mean he was guilty of the crime of which you had accused him."

Van didn't care what anyone thought of Meiden. The second he'd learned that the merchant was responsible for Hitomi's kidnapping, he'd written him off as a bastard not to be trusted. Honestly, if he had been involved with Eries' plans to prove Meiden guilty, Van would have been the least objective person in on the plot. Still, he thought he should have been involved.

"You can't keep us in the dark, Princess," Van said. "I know we only agreed to vote as a bloc during the summit, but Tellot's attack, Dryden taking Meiden's place – all these things greatly affect the summit. I shouldn't have to find out about them by having some guard show up at my door and tell me he's going to follow me around from now on. Merle's still thinking up ways to make him go away."

Merle versus Seclas – that was an interesting match up. Given that Revius had a hard time dealing with the catgirl, Eries would have given Merle odds over the much less outspoken knight. But Seclas was obviously holding in there. Eries wondered how.

Not that it was relevant now. She needed to reassure Van and Nuri. They were still on the same side. She would included them more in any decisions she made.

"And Dryden?" Van asked. "Whose side is he on? I've no problem going behind his father's back but Dryden is…different. I still owe him for helping us with the Espano. I would have died without his intervention."

Eries was familiar with the story from Allen. Naturally a person who placed such a great importance on honor as Van Fanel would never repay a kindness with duplicity. Eries would not use the latter either. "Dryden hasn't really declared a side. He'll do what he feels is best. I'm confident he'll agree with us on what that is, but I've no guarantees."

"So he knows about us?"

"Not exactly…"

Nuri spoke for Van. "So he doesn't know about our plans. That would be because you wanted to consult with us before enlisting another member into our group, correct?"

He said it in such a way that it was obvious Nuri thought his guess was as far from correct as possible. It was annoying as the guess was plausible while not being true at all.

Eries was honest with Nuri as well. "I've only spoken with him in terms of my own goals. I haven't mentioned any of you because I didn't think it necessary. If he votes with me, he votes with all of us."

It was a simple, logical explanation that Nuri didn't fail to pick apart. "But Princess, if we haven't been speaking as we should, how do you know that your vote is the same as ours? And, in the event that Fassa should disagree with you, would it not be more prudent to have several voices to persuade him rather than only your own?"

Van was looking at her expectantly. Eries wondered how much these two had talked amongst themselves before confronting her. The cynic in her thought a collaboration like that wasn't so different from how she and Marqesita had been acting. The politician in her wouldn't say that in a million years.

Instead, she offered a compromise. "Perhaps we should meet with Dryden as I met with the two of you. We should decide on someplace neutral and inconspicuous."

"Not that dreadful bar again, I hope," Nuri said, grimacing.

_And most men appreciate the service of the barmaids there, _Eries thought. She didn't Van would feel comfortable with that level of attention either. Another rooftop duel in the middle of the summit seemed odd.

But as with the locations of the other meetings, this one too was resolved by Allen. He'd grown impatient and slightly worried from waiting outside the hall for Eries and came in to check on her as the trio were offering suggestions.

After nothing had been decided, he invited them all to his home. "After the trip there yesterday, my maid, Aelia, deems the house ready to be formally shown. I'll still be staying in town until the summit's over but she and Celena are heading back tomorrow morning. With Aelia's proficiency, we should be ready to receive you for dinner that evening after the summit concludes."

Nuri's presence at the Schezar estate would seem unusual but everyone else's wouldn't be questioned. Van was his friend, Dryden had already been out there once and why wouldn't Marqesita want to see the house her good friend Eries spent so much time at?

Van accepted the invitation. Nuri considered his excuses and without deciding upon one, accepted too. Eries knew Marqesita wouldn't have any problems with it so that left only one more person: Dryden.

She should ask him before they met at the summit table in the morning. That might prove, not difficult but definitely tricky. He'd already told her where he'd be this evening. He was going to his family estate.

Somebody was going to have to ask him to come join their cabal while under Meiden Fassa's roof.

0-0-0-0

In the end, that somebody was Eries. She wasn't looking forward to the visit. She flirted with the idea of sending a messenger ahead to tell Dryden to lock Meiden up in the basement or something so she wouldn't have to see him. She wished she could just send a messenger to invite Dryden over period but the information was too sensitive to be done impersonally.

Avoiding Meiden was only a temporary solution anyway. Sooner or later, she was going to have to come face to face with him. A good leader couldn't sweep the people she didn't want to deal with under a rug. By coming to him, she would at least appear gracious.

It was in appearance only. As she and Allen waited in the Fassa drawing room for Dryden to appear, Eries indulged in a nervous tick of folding and unfolding her hands. She knew Meiden had to be home; house arrest had that affect on people. And she knew there was no way he would stay away if he heard she was here. And then…

She'd bared Meiden's acid tongue before. It, in and of itself, didn't bother her. It was the prospect of being subjected to it knowing damn well she owed the weasel an apology. Princesses always honored their obligations too.

Luckily, Dryden found her before his father. He was impressed that she had come. "Damn, you sure like to walk right into the lion's den, don't you?"

"I am doing what I feel I must. Enjoyment is not a concern."

"Good thing, too. Dad's on his way."

Both Eries and Allen craned their necks to take a peek around Dryden into the rest of the house. No one was there yet.

Eries spoke quickly. "I came here because associates of mine wish for you to join us. We'll be meeting at the Schezar estate tomorrow for dinner. Can I have your word that you'll come?"

"Associates?"

It was doubtful he truly didn't know what she meant and was just playing cute. Eries had no time for play. "Fellow, like-minded delegates. You can give me your answer in the morning if you need time to consider."

"Oh, man," Dryden laughed. "Not only to you come into my father's house, you do it to ask me to sign on with some kind of secret delegate group. That's not just playing with fire. That's dousing yourself in grease and rolling around in the flames."

"Perhaps I should go then before it becomes too hot."

Too late. She'd been focusing on Dryden and hadn't seen Meiden approach. Allen had seen Meiden though and he nudged Eries' shoulder so she wouldn't speak any further until it was safe - whenever that might be.

"Princess!" Meiden greeted with a large dose of facetiousness. "So wonderful for you to come visit! Jichia knows I've had difficulty leaving my home with this nasty cough of mine!"

"Hello, Meiden," Eries answered flatly. She had two options. She could either let this continue or stop twiddling her hands and go on offense. The latter had an appeal. Let it all out at once and be done with it and then Meiden couldn't lord a thing over her. She went with it.

"Since you're here, I want to take this time to apologize. I was misled, too easily, I'm sad to say, by false evidence and my own hasty judgments against you. I regret that unfortunate turn of events and must express my gratitude that you have been so accommodating of the circumstances needed to amend the mistaken accusation."

Dryden almost laughed. It started as a small snorting sound inside his mouth and ended with him biting his lip.

Tiny and quick as it was, it gave Meiden a target to fume against. Eries had effectively rendered it moot to fume against her. All he would get then was more poison laced expressions of her 'gratitude'.

"Is something amusing, son?"

"Well, kind of," Dryden said. "I'm thinking you had all kinds of plans on how to drag this out for maximum effect and she just ruined it for you."

"Dryden, please," Eries intervened. "I'm not here to start a conflict." She was here to win one.

Meiden knew it too. "Then why are you here? I doubt you came all this way to offer those wonderfully sincere words of apology."

This was getting easier for her. "My offense was such that it required reparations be made in person rather than by the cold remove of a messenger."

"Yes, I'm getting such warm feelings now." Meiden turned to his son who was having renewed difficulties in checking his laughter. "Why is she here, Dryden?"

He answered truthfully if not completely and without sarcasm. "She wanted to talk to me about summit crap and the Schezar estate is having a grand reopening tomorrow. You know how close me and Allen are."

"Like brothers, I'm sure," Meiden snorted, "though I'm not sure what you have in common other than a taste for Aston women."

"Ah, but they are truly the most beautiful treasures in all of Asturia." Dryden was laying it on thick and added a whole other layer by bowing ever so slightly to Eries.

Allen simply remained silent while thinking repeatedly, _it is not my place, it is not my place_.

"I thought Dryden's interest in my sister was of great interest to you," Eries commented. She was already ahead, no reason not to press the advantage.

Actually, there was one. But she'd misjudged Meiden's willingness to bare his claws in front of Dryden and didn't see it until it was too late.

"Indeed, Princess, you've got me there. But what man would not take interest in his son's marriage to a princess, especially one that controls the succession of the royal line? Oh, I know some would say a father should place love above power in terms of an ideal wife for his son, but fortunately for all of us, we don't have to choose. It is nice when you can have both instead of having to throw one away for the other." Meiden's gaze fell significantly on Allen, a gesture everyone in the drawing room did not fail to notice.

Dryden no longer had an urge to laugh. Coughing at his father to shut up seemed to be his new habit. "Yeah, um, not having to choose is great. We'll raise a toast to it tomorrow at dinner in your honor."

"I'm sure it will be a lovely affair. Private, as well it seems. A shame too since your family's estate was once so renowned."

Unfortunately, responding to Meiden was Allen's place. "It has been my goal in this renovation to recapture the stature the house once had."

"Goals are nice," Meiden remarked blandly. "And regaining the stature of the House of Schezar is a noble one. Though one might wonder how obtainable that particular goal is."

Allen stared mutely at Meiden. His place in this case gave him no opportunity to do anything else. He wouldn't have anyway. He'd no idea how to respond and his instincts told him that any response would be the wrong one. Meiden was just waiting for an excuse to elaborate.

Eries figured this as well though her ideal retaliation would not be verbal. She'd often wanted to smack the little weasel as hard as she could. This was the closest she'd ever come to doing it.

Before that could happen, Dryden grabbed his father's arm and began dragging Meiden out of the room. "This is why nobody ever visits you unless they have to for business!"

"Will you let go of me? I was speaking to the princess." He tried escaping Dryden's grip but a disadvantage of the robes he wore was that they gave an opponent ample material to grab a firm hold of.

"No, you were insulting Allen. And I have to eat dinner at his house tomorrow so we're going to stop it right now before you say anything worse."

"Whose side are you on?"

"The side that doesn't make really snide comments to his guests' faces."

Meiden finally worked Dryden's fingers off his sleeve and abruptly turned back to Allen and Eries. "It wasn't so much a snide comment than a warning."

"Warning of what?" Eries' demand carried a chill that made 'Ice Princess' seem like a cheerful euphemism.

Meiden wasn't cowed. Eries had come to his house to speak to his son about what he knew was his business. She could make all the fake apologies she wanted but it would never be enough to truly undermine him. He still had a card left to play. He hadn't hired Iribeth's for trivia's sake. He thought it was time to let Eries know where she stood.

"It was a warning of the taint he might further give his family if he wishes to continue the course he is on. I would extend the same warning to you, Princess."

Dryden made for another grab for Meiden's sleeve. His father was quick, Eries quicker. "I've heard these silly hints of yours that never quite materialize into full accusations for years now, Meiden. I'm through with them. Either tell me what delusions you're suffering or keep them to yourself."

"I'm not the delusional one, Princess. I'm not the one who thinks I can get away with some tawdry affair with no consequence."

"Aw, jeez, Dad." Dryden had given up on removing his father. He wished he could remove himself instead. He'd been uncomfortable every time Meiden had made references to the reason he believed Eries wouldn't marry. He really didn't want to be around now that his father was blatantly accusing her of having an affair. It galled him to see women disrespected like that. He knew it would gall Allen even more.

And Allen had a sword to go along with that sense of chivalry.

That sword remained sheathed. Eries' palm, however, made full contact with the side of Meiden's face. Both Dryden and Allen moved a step backward in shock, as if they had been hit too.

"You do not speak to me in that manner, little man. I don't care if you are a friend of my father's. I am his daughter and your princess and you will respect me."

Whether it was the slap or the evoking of Aston, Meiden backed down. In all their years of political bickering, they'd both worked in some nasty blows. Meiden had given as good as he got, always aware that for all his power and status, Eries did outrank him. She'd never pulled that rank with such authority before. He knew if he kept pushing her here, she'd never stop.

"My apologies, Princess. I chose my words poorly, more likely I should not have spoken them at all."

"That's the first intelligent thing you've said."

He stifled his impulse to return the barb. Eries was still regarding him with a cold fury, despite the deep breaths she was taking to calm herself down. He'd angered her far more than he'd intended. He knew now there was more to Iribeth's stories of Allen lingering too long in Eries' room after seeing her there safely, of brief whispers to each other in hallways when they thought no one was looking.

She was still in love with Schezar, exactly as he'd expected but with that extra level of defensiveness, Meiden guessed that it wasn't as one-sided as it had been in the past. This was a very interesting development.

He played the supplicant to test the waters to see how deep he could go to exploit it. "I was merely trying to warn you. You are aware, I'm sure, of how quickly palace gossip travels and how destructive it can be even when untrue."

"I haven't heard a word of palace gossip that matches your claim."

"You should listen more, Princess. The handmaidens see and hear and then they suspect. I've heard from one of them." Meiden omitted that he paid that particular handmaiden to do the seeing and the hearing but his point stood. What Iribeth was paid to notice would one day be noticed for free.

There was still enough truth left in what Meiden said to bring Eries back to her senses. Allen had been sent to Fort Castello because her attendant had caught him sleeping in Eries' bed. He'd only been there because they were consoling each other after Marlene's death, but that's all it had taken. It was all it would take. A member of the palace staff accidentally would see something she shouldn't and the next moment, she and Allen would have to be answering to Aston.

It was a moment that would come sooner rather than later if Meiden was actively trying to make it happen. The palace staff was by and large honorable and dedicated to the royal family. But Meiden was just as known around the palace. A handmaiden would have no reason not to listen to the instructions Meiden was bound to make sound completely innocuous.

"Was that a threat?" Eries asked calmly. She was determined to regain control, not only of Meiden but of herself.

"Not a threat, Princess, but an observation. If you are partaking in the activity it seems you are partaking in, there would be great consequences for you – and your fellow participant."

Dryden watched as Eries' hand twitched again but remained at her side. Behind her, Allen was doing a fine job of keeping quiet, but there was a fire in his eyes that made Dryden worry that his father could push the knight to draw his blade. As much as he hated violence, Dryden didn't know if he could be so passive if someone were speaking to Millerna the way Meiden was speaking to Eries.

And that's when Dryden realized too that there was something to his father's accusations. He'd never seen Eries lose her composure as she had. But he had seen Allen in a pure rage when he'd blithely praised Leon Schezar's free spirit while translating the journal that led them to Atlantis. All Allen had done then was stalk off. Dryden hadn't felt threatened in the least. Now was another matter entirely.

Dryden didn't know what to make of it. Allen and Eries – an odd match at first glance but looking deeper, he could see how they might suit each other. They certainly had a flair for overdramatic seriousness in common. That flair made Dryden keeps his opinions on their compatibility to himself. There wasn't a light hearted comment in the world that could ease the tension in this room.

Meiden sensed the tension too and moved back to shallower depths. Eries had been warned that he knew her secret. That was all he needed. Forcing her out of control would be counterproductive.

"Again, it seems as if I have misspoken. You are my guest here. You should receive nothing but the most special attention."

_Getting to slap the master of the house across the face was pretty special, _Dryden thought. But his idea for ending this horrible visit on a positive note for Eries would be better carried out without quips. "I'm sure I'll receive nothing but at your house tomorrow, Allen. Really looking forward to going."

Momentum shifted with this promise. Eries was able to stop wishing looks truly could kill and Allen relaxed.

A change came to Meiden too. He didn't like his son practically boasting that he was going to conspire with the enemy. "I'm sure you have more important things to attend-"

"I don't think so, Dad. It'll be a great opportunity to discuss summit business with Eries. She has such good ideas too."

Meiden really, really, really hated his son openly boasting that he was going to conspire with the enemy. All he could do was seethe though. He figured this was nothing but Dryden rebelling against him because he'd antagonized Eries so much. Meiden would take what he'd won and leave before he could lose it all.

No one was sad to see him go. Dryden apologized on his behalf but Eries wouldn't hear it. "It's not on you, Dryden. You can't help it your father is a shifty little weasel without a shred of honor within him."

"Eh, he has some honor but it's mostly family related. Take care of your own, to hell with everybody else. Unfortunately, you're an 'everybody'."

Eries would have to see that familial honor to believe it. She wasn't going to hold her breath for a display. She would rely on Dryden's honor instead because she knew he did have it and because she didn't have much other choice.

"About what Meiden said…" she reluctantly began.

"None of my business. I told you all the crap he's said about you over the years and you know I've never told another soul. That's not going to change."

Eries was so relieved she could almost hug Dryden. He was good at picking up that sort of thing and did the hugging for her.

"Hey," he said during the embrace. "The law says you are still my sister-in-law, so I've got to take care of you."

"Thank you, Dryden. I appreciate it."

Dryden offered a hug for Allen too, but he was not that appreciative. Allen got a hearty punch to the shoulder instead.

"Congratulations, by the way," Dryden said, feeling safe to joke around again.

"About the house, I mean," he added when he could no longer bare the shocked looks he was receiving. "I think it sounds great."

0-0-0-0

"That was disastrous," Eries declared once they were back on the Palas streets. "And it started out so well, too."

Allen skipped trying to make it seem like everything was all right. He could tell Eries wasn't in the mood for lies, not matter how pleasant and well-intentioned. "Do you think Meiden actually knows something or he was bluffing?"

"Hard to tell. He's flung so many accusations over the years he's bound to get one right."

"But he seemed so certain…"

"That's how he is, Allen. Everything is done with the air of knowing he's one hundred percent right even if he's completely wrong. That's what makes him so dangerous, not to mention infuriating."

Allen wasn't so convinced that Meiden had taken a wild stab in the dark and gotten lucky. The man had been right in the past after all. Eries had been in love with him before and Chid… He didn't know how Meiden knew these things, but the fact that Meiden did know them made Allen uneasy.

He tried thinking of anything he and Eries might have done to give away the secret. They'd been so careful with the exception of Revius discovering them out in the garden. But that had been at his own house with his guests supposedly accounted for. Around the palace, they acted purely as princess and guard until they were behind closed doors. Somebody would have to be deliberately lingering outside in a hallway to hear anything. That sort of behavior was more suspicious than what they'd been doing. The only people who could stay in a hallway like that without looking out of place would be…they'd be…

They'd be the exact people Meiden claimed as a source.

_The handmaidens see and hear and then they suspect. I've heard from one of them_.

"Do you recall any handmaidens acting odd around you lately?" Allen asked Eries. "If one had overheard something and then reported it to Meiden, I can't imagine she would be quick to look you in the face."

The problem was that few of the handmaidens ever looked Eries in the face. She was a princess and an aloof one at that. She honestly didn't pay much attention to the handmaidens that served her. They only seemed to pay attention to her in order to gossip behind her back later.

_Damn. The little weasel might have been telling the truth for a change._

It looked like she was at the first obstacle she'd been trying not to think of. Naturally, it was the nastiest obstacle she would encounter. All she needed was for Meiden to pay her father a visit for a friendly chat. Meiden couldn't right now. Despite the venom he spewed at her, Dryden had sworn his father was going to be a dutiful Asturian and maintain the illusion of house arrest. But once the true criminals had been caught, she bet her father's door would be the first place Meiden would darken.

She'd been able to get the upper hand at the beginning because she'd preempted him. He'd been hoping to watch her squirm as she fought her distaste to make an apology. But this was another matter entirely. Millerna had accepted it as a vague concept that had never been voiced outright. Her father railed against even that. There was no way she could tell her father a word.

But there had to be a way because Meiden wouldn't be at a loss for words if he felt he had something to gain.

"Eries...?" Allen prompted after she hadn't spoken for a while.

"I think you might be right. Meiden might actually have me this time."

It was unusual for Eries to concede defeat. Allen wouldn't have it. After everything they'd gone through to get where they were, when at last everything in his life seemed to fit and have purpose, he wasn't going to let someone like Meiden Fassa wreck it.

"Even if he does know, he won't go running to your father with it. That would take away his leverage."

"He doesn't need leverage if I'm not on the council. I think my father would prefer to keep me there but if Meiden slanders me in front of everyone, he might withdraw that backing."

"He might. But you don't know for sure."

Eries appreciated Allen's optimism. She just couldn't believe in it. "You do know how much my father dislikes you, don't you?"

"That never stopped you from saying you wanted this." In the middle of the street, he stopped and took her hand. He didn't care who saw it. "You do still want this?"

Fully aware that they were out in the open to be seen be anyone and everyone that passed, Eries found that she didn't care about that either. She squeezed Allen's hand and pulled him closer. "More than anything."

They kept their incriminating pose for a fleeting moment, then backed away to resume their normal stances as princess and guard.

"Then we'll do whatever it takes to keep it," Allen vowed as they set off again.

0-0-0-0

Dryden wasn't a heavy drinker. He was barely a drinker at all, preferring to savor the flavors of the drink rather than rushing through it to enjoy the effects of its alcohol content. So he really didn't know what it felt like to be drunk, but what he had learned tonight was giving him a good idea of what he'd missed.

_Eries and Allen. Jeez._ Meiden had told him Eries that had thrown away the throne over Allen. She'd all but confirmed it was the truth when they'd talked before he left Palas. But now she was actually doing something about it.

_Good for her_, he thought. Good for him too since this would put Allen forever and always out of Millerna's mind. He was pretty sure she was close to doing it anyway, but a little insurance was never a bad thing. Extra good for him actually because it meant if Eries did wind up with Allen in the end, there was no way the line of succession would revert back to her. Aston would never allow it. No matter how rocky his relationship with Millerna was, barring it reversing course into a full on disaster, Dryden was guaranteed to not to lose his status as Prince Regent. At least, he wouldn't lose it until he became king.

He wasn't being entirely selfish with this line of thinking. He wasn't the only person this would be extra good for. Meiden would be the father of a king, the crown of Asturia would be worn by Fassas from now on. Surely the old man wouldn't do anything to botch that up.

'Anything' included getting Eries back in line for succession. Meiden probably wasn't thinking of that while he dangled his threats in front of her but Dryden felt it was his duty to remind him.

His other duty was to sit down with Meiden and get that list of potential enemies in Egzardia's parliament. He was sure Eries' group would like to have the list handy during the get-together at Allen's so he'd have to set aside how ticked he was at Meiden to get it.

He found his father in his study, going over the company books as usual. Meiden kept his nose buried in them even after Dryden had sat down on the desk corner and started coughing for attention.

"You're not going to leave, are you?" Meiden sighed. Dryden nodded.

"Fine, Son, what do you want now? I'm sure you have some lovely thoughts to share on what happened earlier."

"I wouldn't call them lovely."

"Get to the point, boy."

"Okay, okay." The point would be more comfortably conveyed without having to look over his shoulder to see his father so Dryden hopped off the desk and began pacing the study. Meiden was already impatient for him to start talking. He'd be more impatient if that talking included any kind of scolding.

So Dryden went to the root of the problem instead of wasting time treating its symptoms. "You and Eries really hate each other, don't you?"

"Hate's a strong word."

"Seems like an apt word to me."

"Dryden–" Meiden had a thorough explanation ready as to why he didn't really hate Eries but with their venomous fight still fresh on his mind, he could easily see why that was the conclusion that Dryden had drawn. "I dislike her intensely. Does that sound better?"

"Not really. You two are still going to keep threatening each other and trying to one up each other politically. That puts her family – of which I'm technically a member – and pretty much the whole country in a fun position."

"What would you have me do, Dryden? Let her have full run of the council? Mind you, if that happened, you can believe your power would be hindered."

"I don't think Eries has any interest in cutting my power –"

"Can you be so certain? We Fassas aren't too far from our poor origins to be as accepted in Asturian society as the older nobility. In the end, you're a merchant's son who married into royalty, not born of the blood yourself."

"And you think the council cares?"

"This is Asturia, Dryden. Appearances aren't everything but they're mostly everything. I've worked hard to gain the influence we have. I won't watch it be taken away."

"As I said, I don't think Eries would do that."

Meiden sighed again and shut his books. All his teachings over the years about the importance of power hadn't sunk in a bit with his son. At this stage, he doubted they ever would. But he had to try. "You seem to like underestimating what Eries would and would not do. That's not a good hobby. Believe me, I know. I've underestimated her in the past and it's always come back to haunt me."

"Isn't that more your own fault? You can't blame her for trying to get her way."

Meiden snorted. He'd blame whoever he felt like. "Her way, unfortunately, contradicts my way nine times out of ten. I had such plans to move this country forward…"

"Had?" Dryden had to be mishearing. Meiden didn't give up on anything, ever.

And that was true to some effect. "Yes, I had grand plans for Asturia to become a leader to the whole world," Meiden said wistfully, "but it looks like I'm going to have to settle for ensuring your kingship instead. Which still makes her a thorn in my side."

The political side of Dryden wanted to hear more about these aborted plans but his far, far larger personal side sought the scope on how Eries could interfere with him becoming king. Her actions indicated that was a goal she and Meiden had in common. "Dad, she wants me and Millerna to be together. And since the line of succession goes through Millerna…"

"It only goes through Millerna because Eries won't marry. That's it. Her ridiculous obsession with Allen Schezar has, bizarrely enough, been the best thing about her in my opinion. I'm grateful for it and hope it goes on forever. You see, Grava never would have let another daughter go after losing Marlene to Freid. That means if Eries had relented, she'd have a nice Asturian husband. And knowing that woman, it would be a nice, spineless Asturian husband who would do what she damn well told him to do."

"I'm completely lost," Dryden stammered. "You want Eries to keep pining for Allen so she won't marry but now that they're together, you're threatening to break them apart?"

"Oh, Dryden," Meiden laughed, "a threat is not an action. I've never had any intention of telling Grava. He'd do something about it! That's the last thing I want!"

This didn't help make things clearer for Dryden. If anything, he was more lost than before. "Okay, so you're bluffing. What happens when Eries calls your bluff? You've got nothing."

"She has to call the bluff first and that will not happen."

Dryden nodded. He thought of bringing up that warning about not underestimating Eries and giving it a nice firm rub in Meiden's face, but he had to know where his father was going with this. "So what do you want to make her do?"

"Exactly what she's doing now. Wasting her time countering a plan that no longer exists and getting more involved with Schezar by the day. Her focus will be on everything but what I'm actually doing."

"What you're actually…" Dryden thought he was starting to see a ray of light at the end of this convoluted tunnel. It was bright and blazing and giving him a headache. "So the real reason you act like a total ass to Eries is just to make her mad and think you're up to something when you're up to something else?"

"She's so busy hating me in general, she won't bother to get the specifics."

Dryden could see the advantages of that strategy. It made him feel dirty that he could see them so clearly, but he was his father's son after all. He'd even called the benefits Meiden would reap from Eries' continuing relationship with Allen. He just hadn't called Meiden savoring those benefits already.

That still left questions unanswered. "And what does any of this have to do with me getting or not getting the throne?"

"Oh, you'll get the throne," Meiden said in what he mistakenly believed was a reassuring tone. "Right now, I'm trying to guarantee the amount of power you'll wield once it's yours."

_Uh, not this again_. "Dad, I'm just not as power hungry as you. Neither is Eries. She doesn't hold it against me that I'm a merchant's son, even though you're the merchant in question. What do you think she's going to do? Try to get control of the council out from under you and rule through it?"

Father and son started at each other, unblinking. "That's exactly what you think she'll do," Dryden finally said.

"It's a possibility. Grava's certainly groomed her for it, putting her on the council at a young age, letting her have a seat at the summit…"

"Yeah, but that was because he wanted an Aston there. Don't you think there should be an Aston there?" And then Dryden knew he had called it again. In one generation, there wouldn't be any more Astons there. That might not sit well with the man who'd unintentionally brought the line to an end.

"Grava never said anything to me explicitly," Meiden confirmed as if reading his son's thoughts, "but I know it bothers him that the Aston name will die with him. Through Eries though, he has a chance of extending the Aston power, if only for a little bit."

"He's your best friend, Dad."

"And a damn good king, I would add. But you can be one as well. I want you to be able to prove it."

"So you're going to keep poking at Eries so I'll have that chance."

"All her energy will be focused on me. At the very least, holding a grudge like that will affect her standing with the council. I might not be royalty and my interests might be on the self-serving side, but that's something I have in common with most of my fellow councilmen. With Eries setting herself up as my mortal enemy, I can probably get more support than her."

"Can't rule the world so you'll make sure your son can rule the country. That's actually somewhat selfless for you. Not anybody else, but for you, it's definitely an improvement."

"Yes, I do try," Meiden said. It wasn't the highest of compliments but as Dryden said, for him it was pretty good.

If only Dryden hadn't picked into the details of his benevolence. "Wait a second. This is a change of plan for you. You really did want to rule the world first."

Dryden wouldn't believe him if he'd denied it and he'd all but confessed it anyway. "Once upon time, I had dreams of it," Meiden said. "But they came to naught. I did meet with Bennor e' Egzard but we couldn't agree on anything. I also met with the Cesarian chancellor. He could see the big picture but lacked the guts to execute it. We drew up some plans but he kept balking at them, worried that they'd fail or someone might discover what we were up to. He was especially worried about Eries no matter how many times I told him I could keep her in line. I even told him she'd come around to our line of thinking, but he just couldn't stop second-guessing everything. So in a way, this is all Eries' fault."

Dryden frowned but Meiden wasn't going to rewrite his personal history to make it fairer to Eries.

"The attack on Tellot was the last straw. The Cesarian panicked. 'Somebody's trying to kill the other delegates! What if they find out about us! They'll come after us next!' I'm almost glad the plan fell apart because it means I won't have to listen to that simpering man anymore."

Dryden remembered how high-strung his old assistant, Mr. Rat, was. That was the precise reason why Dryden had offered him a sweet retirement package. He saw eye to eye with Meiden on that point. On others… "You never really believed Eries would go along with you, did you?"

"I believed that a woman capable of using her sister's hand in marriage as a bargaining tool would be capable of seeing the benefits of expanding Asturia's power. I even went the extra step of spelling it all out for her so she could see I wasn't hiding anything. I didn't have to do that."

"Yeah and you probably shouldn't have. You know that pretty much galvanized her hatred of you. Galvanized it good."

Meiden laughed in spite of himself. "I told you I underestimated her. My only revenge is that I haven't informed her of the change in plans and she's still wasting time recruiting for the 'I Hate Meiden Club'. That's what that party out at Schezar's place is, isn't it? A membership drive?"

His father was already down and being self-effacingly humorous about it too. Dryden wouldn't kick him. "Nah, she's already got a full roster. This meeting's just to plan what nasty things to do with you. I was going to tell them about your spider phobia. All kinds of laughs could come out of that."

"Very cute, Dryden, but you won't betray me by telling Eries any of this. Now that you know I'm not trying to enslave the world, you won't be listening to Eries anymore."

"Oh, really? Might you be…_underestimating_…me?"

"You don't have a dishonest bone in your body, boy. Don't know how that happened, but it did. As much as it hurt, I realized your temporary siding with Eries was just that and you only did it because you believed it was the right thing to do."

"You're still antagonizing her for no good reason. And you were incredibly nasty to her when she was here. Why should I let that continue?"

Meiden searched for a reason Dryden would find acceptable. "Because it's amusing?"

"Dad…"

"All right. In the future, I'll only be nasty to her when you're not around."

"Oh, Dad…"

0-0-0-0

It was an interesting phenomenon how a house could be completely lit one second and then go completely dark once a person approached the front door. This phenomenon seemed more likely to occur when the person at the door was wearing a uniform and the people who supposedly weren't inside the house had recently partaken in shady behavior. Alucier was no stranger to it and his response to it occurring now was the same as when it had occurred in the past: he was annoyed.

"I know you're in there," he said in a low singsong as he circled the house and peered through a window. His annoyance wasn't just at the hiding homeowners. He'd wanted to come by personally this morning to take care of this task. Summit business had prevented that from happening. So he'd sent one of the palace guards to do it instead. The man had encountered the same response.

The guard had given up despite Alucier's insistence that he not come back alone. If Alucier had been free to explain why it was so important to retrieve this witness, maybe the guard would have taken his insistency more seriously. But he wasn't free and neither was he willing to risk coming up empty handed on a second attempt.

That had brought him here. Thankfully, the barmaid who'd clued him into Vint's whereabouts at the docks had already been found. She'd readily agreed to come to the palace. She'd never seen it in person, let alone stayed in one of its rooms. The woman was treating it as a grand vacation, which ensured her cooperation while implying she didn't have any more helpful information to give.

On the flip side, if the woman who'd told him about the bar in the first place was doing everything in her power to avoid him that could mean she had quite a lot of information to impart.

In truth, she didn't have much, but the few pieces she had were vital. She'd been paid to lie and could identify her employer. She didn't know his name but his face would never leave her memory no matter how much she tried. It wasn't always that way. She'd been close to happily blocking out the man who'd paid for her new future with her husband. Then, this morning, she'd received a message, fortunately delivered before the palace guard had shown up. It was fortunate because if she had not read that note and had talked to the palace guard, it probably would have been the last thing she'd ever done in this life.

She'd resolved the second she'd gotten the message – a slip of paper left attached to her door by a slender knife by someone who'd knocked once then disappeared – to leave Palas. She'd gotten enough money out of her employer to be able to pick up and never look back; her only problem was explaining everything to her husband.

It had taken most of the day to work up the courage to tell him the truth. They'd spent the time between then and now packing their things. They should have left with just the money. Because now there was a Caeli lurking outside their home and he did not look like he would fall for the vacant house routine.

She was right about that. Alucier circled around back, giving the house a wide berth so he could still see the front door, to check if there were any escape routes on that side of the house. There weren't. The small yard was boxed in on all sides. Alucier returned to the front. He'd had enough.

"One last chance," he called through the door. No one took it.

The door gave on his first kick. _Nice_, he thought, _of course I do that when nobody's looking. _There was somebody looking though. He caught the sound of catching breath and followed it into the couple's kitchen.

He stooped down to look under the table in the corner. With one hand on the hilt of his sword, he raised the other to wave at the frightened couple huddling there. "Hi!"

"I don't know anything," the woman babbled in a rush. "I told you everything already and my husband and I were about to leave so just go!"

"I am going," Alucier informed her. "I'm going back to the palace with both you and your husband. Nice to see you've already packed for the trip."

He stood up to allow the couple to consult. He couldn't make much out of their faint whispering but he thought he could contribute positively to the discussion. "The palace is secure. You'll have a guard assigned to you wherever you go. Nobody's going to harm you. I won't let them."

_Besides, there's no way you're overpowering me and if I have to drag you back to the palace, then you'll be dragged back to the palace._

It wouldn't come to that. The women emerged from under the table first, offering an apology and pleading for mercy. "I'm sorry. I only did it because we needed the money. I didn't think I was doing anything that wrong."

She unfolded the note she'd received earlier and gave it to Alucier. The paper it was written on reminded Alucier of the letters he would receive from Marqesita. It was of the same thickness and texture. It even had the same off-white hue.

Palace stationary. Only the higher-ups in Egzardian society would be able to get a hold of it. Would one of them really be careless enough to use it to make a threat against a witness?

He pocketed the would-be clue. He had to get these two to the palace first. Then he could spend the night pondering how each new piece of evidence seemed to lead him further away from the truth.

0-0-0-0

The interview with the witness didn't reveal many more details. The woman at first claimed that the man who had paid her was Cesarian but when Alucier had expressed surprise at that, she'd stammered she wasn't really sure. She thought he was Cesarian because of the jacket he'd been wearing. She'd been to Cesario's capital last year and the jacket resembled the ones worn by the men there. Her employer had never said anything about being Cesarian. He hadn't said much at all beyond giving her instructions.

"But you'd know him if you saw him again?"

"Certainly. And he's knows it too. Or else he never would have threatened me."

She tried sounding brave but Alucier could see she was shaking. He told her she'd been through enough today and let her go back to the room that had been given to her and her husband. A guard was waiting to escort her, leaving Alucier with nothing to do.

Usually when he had nothing to do, he killed time hanging out with Revius. As annoying as his friend could be, Revius knew how to provide a good distraction. He'd have to provide the most wonderful distraction ever to take Alucier's problems off his mind, but a little relief was better than none.

He found Revius at the main guard station, doling out the final assignments for the night before leaving for home. Alucier normally would have walked right in to wait until his was through but tonight he lingered outside, making sure to stay out of sight. On of the men waiting for his assignment was Fortanen, his rival for commander post. Alucier had almost forgotten that goal with being so tied up in this investigation. Seeing the man now reminded Alucier that he'd be better off forgetting it entirely if said investigation wasn't resolved soon.

Revius found him anyway. He'd seen Alucier before Alucier had seen Fortanen and figured he was still lurking and hadn't been driven away.

"Don't let that jerk bother you," Revius advised.

"Easy for you to say. You can boss him around if he gets on your nerves."

"Yeah, it _is_ fun, but I think I've pushed him too much. It'll be my ass if he gets the command post. So that's why you have to get it. Karma ain't on my side otherwise."

"It never occurred to you to hedge your bets and be nicer to him?"

"Hell, I'm not at the point of panicking."

Alucier had passed that point some time ago. It was only a combination of denial and a steadfast adherence to duty that was keeping him calm. "Must be nice…" he muttered.

"Something bothering you?"

Alucier related the story of the witness and the threat and how little he'd gleaned from either. "The stationary just seems too obvious to me. And you know what happened the last time we fell for obvious evidence."

"Yeah, it does seem off. I mean, why go to the trouble of threatening a witness instead of just killing them? Seems sloppy."

"Thank you, Mr. Sunshine." Pessimism aside, Revius was right. Knives didn't affix themselves to doors on their own accord. Somebody made the effort to visit his witness's house but they stopped short of letting themselves in and ensuring her silence beyond a shadow of a doubt. It was either sloppy, an incongruous act of mercy or another part of another plan meant to throw him off.

The last choice was the most likely as well as the most frustrating. He was being led around. He hated it – the thought that someone was using him and everyone else in some pathetic scheme for power and the thought that he really didn't have much choice but to keep following.

0-0-0-0

It was late when Allen escorted Eries back to her quarters. It was later still when he left to go to his own home.

Much of that time was spent lingering by the door, knowing how late it was and not caring.

"I really should go," Allen said. "I have to catch Aelia and Celena before they go to bed. I can't wait until morning to spring a large dinner party on them. I should help with the plans too."

Despite the urgency of his task, he made no move to complete it. It would have been difficult to do so what with having his back pressed against the wall as Eries pressed against his chest. If he were to apply some effort, he could have extricated himself.

He did not want to be extricated.

Eries offered more temptation to stay in place by nuzzling closer. "Aelia is extremely good at her job. It won't take her long to get ready and she'd probably have an easier time of it if you let her plan everything on her own."

"True," he said, stroking a spot at the nape of Eries' neck that he been delighted to discover was quite sensitive. ""But she's not planning this on her own. She has Celena's help."

This should have been cause for alarm, but Eries was far too comfortable for that. "It could be a learning lesson for the both of them," she suggested.

Allen laughed, at Eries' remark and the tickling sensation caused by Eries' fingers brushing against his side. She'd found some interesting spots on him too. "It'll probably end up being a lesson to me to never ignore business in favor of pleasure again."

He grabbed her hands and brought them up to his lips. It was a gesture both romantic and pragmatic. Eries had worked her way under his overskirt. Who knew where she'd wind up next? He was far too eager to find out. "I do really have to go. And if I don't go now…"

"Hmm," Eries muttered at this intrusion of reality into the cozy dream they'd been nestled into. All good things do have to come to an end but nobody has to like it.

Allen placed a goodbye kiss upon her fingers but wasn't allowed to move until a second kiss reached her lips. Then, finally, Eries released him. "I'll see you in the morning. If you want to get here early for breakfast…I might have something special for you."

Throwing a dinner party for half the royalty on Gaea on short notice was a tall order and no matter how good Aelia was at her job, Allen would still be up half the night helping her iron out the details. Nonetheless, nothing was going to stop him from showing up bright and early at Eries' door.

0-0-0-0

Author's Note: If you're dissatisfied that the party at the Schezar estate has been delayed, feel free to blame Meiden. One day I might figure out to keep him from rambling for pages on end, but that day ain't anywhere close to the present.

Next Up: A Celebration. Allen and Millerna reach an understanding. Nuri feels chatty. Dryden picks a side. Celena fesses up. All that and more, plus a killer owl attack!


	28. A Celebration

Intrigues of a Princess

XXVI: A Celebration

Even though the dinner party was thrown together on a moment's notice and was basically nothing more than an excuse to cover for a secret meeting, the Schezars (and Aelia) spared no expense in setting it up to be a grand event. From the start of the long drive that led up to the house, paper lanterns were strewn among the tree branches, outlining the path while decorating it with the dancing shadows of the leaves.

The light played nicely across the broad windows of the carriage as well as leading Eries to think that was why Allen had chosen to rent these particular carriages to transport his guests from the palace to his home. She'd have to wait until she got there to ask him. He'd begged off duty early to help with last minute preparations. That left her in the care of Revius since she, Millerna and Dryden were all coming out here together.

Theirs was the first carriage to arrive at the Schezar estate. They were greeted immediately by a porter immaculately dressed in a typical Asturian uniform of pants with many pleats, voluminous sleeves and a feathered cap. Eries thought Allen had hired this man for the evening as he had the carriages until Millerna leaned in to study his face and proclaimed with a gasp, "Gaddes?"

Once Millerna said his name, Eries recognized him. She too was surprised but she had the dignity not to snicker, unlike the males of her group.

Gaddes was perfectly composed. He bowed to the ladies and even to the un-gentlemanly gentlemen, then led them to the front door. Stationed there were two more reasons for Revius and Dryden to laugh: two more Crusaders, Kio and Teo, dressed in the same manner as Gaddes.

"Damn, you all must be loyal to Allen," Revius observed.

"He's a great commander, Sir," Teo answered smartly. Inwardly he was reminding himself of the fat paycheck he'd get once this party was over. Being a keen tactician and skilled fighter had ensured that Teo and his fellow Crusaders would follow Allen through hell. But paying well was the only thing that would get them to dress up in frou-frou clothes during the journey.

Gaddes instructed Kio to handle the next carriage while he escorted Eries' group to the great room. The windows were all opened, letting in a subtle breeze that would keep the room comfortable once it was full of guests. With few people in the room, Allen had the fireplace going to keep it from getting too cool. The fire also helped draw the eye to the restored fireplace and the large banner of the Schezar family crest hanging above it. The white owl sitting on the perch placed by the hearth was pretty impressive too.

"Hey, owlie, owlie," Revius called to Natal. She flatly ignored him. Eries knew better than to approach. Natal ignored virtually every person who wasn't Allen unless said person got too close to her. That's when she'd start pecking. Eries had gotten pecked on the hand once when Natal was only an owlet. She didn't want to know how hard the owl could peck as an adult.

"I have to admit," Dryden said, "that is one cool pet."

Natal adjusted her position on the perch, as if bristling at being called a pet. Still, in true pet fashion, the second Allen entered the room she flew over to meet him. Allen chided her but let her settle on his shoulder anyway. Once more guests arrived, he'd set her loose for a night of hunting but as it was just close friends for now, he didn't mind her. He'd missed her while living in the city.

Celena gave brother and owl a wide berth when she came in. Unlike Eries, she knew exactly how hard adult Natal could peck. Though Allen had placed the blame on her for trying to pet an owl, Celena had a suspicion that Natal would lash out at any woman who got too close to her beloved master. Right now, she would swear Natal was giving Eries the eye.

Owl conspiracies would have to wait though. Celena's role for tonight was the graceful hostess. Aelia had been coaching her whenever she had a spare moment from cooking. Celena supposed she appreciated the tutelage but what Aelia taught wasn't much different from what Celena remembered of her mother during these things. Basically, she had three responsibilities: smile, look pretty and act very interested in whatever your guests said. Smiling was easy and being born a Schezar took care of the looks part so all she really had to do was focus on people when they were talking. Alas, focusing wasn't really her strong suite.

She did start out strong, welcoming everyone individually even though she thought it was stupid. Everybody in the room had just been out here. It was good practice though and Eries, Millerna and Allen made sure to tell her how well she'd done.

Revius also had some praise. "You clean up pretty good, kid."

"Oh, but not as well as you do, Sir Revius!"

Revius blinked, unsure if there was an insult in there or not. It depended entirely on how much he bought into Celena's innocent child act. That is to say, he was leaning towards being insulted.

Kio, proving that some people didn't clean up at all no matter how fancily they were dressed, announced the impending arrival of more guests by shouting from the front door, "Yo, next carriage incoming." Gaddes hurried out to make sure Teo would handle this carriage more delicately.

He returned a few minutes later, bringing with him the expected Nuri and one very unexpected guest.

"Duke Chid zar Freid and Nuri en Freid," Gaddes pronounced.

Allen stared blankly at the new arrivals. Chid was lingering around Gaddes and mostly obscured by Nuri's tall frame, but Allen could physically _feel_ Chid's presence here. It seemed at once utterly taboo and wistfully welcome.

Celena couldn't believe her brother's breech in protocol and took it upon herself to do the greeting. She gave Allen a slight smack on the back as she moved towards Nuri.

Natal did not like having her perch disturbed in any way. She spread her wings out to their full span and hooted menacingly at Celena.

Celena ran for the nearest shelter, which happened to be behind Nuri. "Your crazy owl is going to kill me! I know she hates me!" She peered over Nuri's shoulder to see if any white, hooty death was coming her way.

Natal wasn't that angry but she was upset enough to dig a rare talon into Allen's shoulder. Instantly, he no longer cared about the awkward appearance of his illegitimate child at his family estate. "Natal," he implored the owl to calm down. She retracted her talon and a thin trail of blood appeared in its place on Allen's shoulder.

"Okay, maybe that's not such a cool pet," Dryden said.

Allen excused himself and hurried out of the room at a half-dignified pace, Natal still on his shoulder.

"Shouldn't someone look at his wound?" Nuri suggested. He hoped that someone would be Celena. The girl was still using him for cover.

But Chid had another person in mind. "Aunt Millerna's a doctor. She can take of it."

There had to be a non-secretive reason why that was not a good idea, but Millerna couldn't come up with it. She looked to Eries, who shrugged. They couldn't spend the rest of their lives tip-toeing around each other. Taking a few seconds to treat a small wound shouldn't be a daunting task. The first step would be not to treat it as such.

"I'll go see if he's all right," Millerna finally said.

Celena warned her to watch out for evil owls. Though the room was owl-free, she did not come out from her safe spot behind Nuri. The safety of that spot was mere perception because the longer she stayed there the shorter the patience of her shield became at an exponential rate. Nuri had been trained to deal with many hardships as a monk, but a slightly daft teenage Asturian girl hovering behind him wasn't one of them.

While everyone else fretted over owl injuries and uncomfortable presences, Dryden migrated over to a plate of appetizers that had been set out. Revius had already snagged a few and was munching on them happily.

"This is going to be an awesome party, isn't it?" he said to Dryden.

Dryden nodded in assent. Truthfully, he didn't know if it would reach the heights of awesome, but whatever happened, it was going to be damn interesting.

0-0-0-0

Millerna found Allen in the washroom off the kitchen. He'd let Natal out of the window there but he still had a female hovering about him. Aelia had gotten to him before Millerna and was fussing with a medical kit that she was positive contained a roll of bandages.

"Don't worry, Aelia. The bleeding's almost stopped," Allen told her. The fresh spurt of blood that came from his wound when he stopped pressing the dishtowel he was using as a compress against it proved him a liar.

Aelia gasped and began rooting through the kit more furiously.

"Aelia…" Allen sighed. It was useless to think she'd ever stop worrying.

"Can I help?" Millerna asked sheepishly. Neither Aelia nor Allen had noticed her standing there. One was glad to see her. The other…not unhappy but not quite reaching glad either.

Aelia rushed to her with the kit. "Of course, Princess! Let me know what you need and I'll get it right away!"

Millerna took the kit from her. Rifling through it, she saw most of everything she would need, minus the bandages. There was a pair of scissors inside that could convert another dishtowel into what she needed easily. She assigned that task to Aelia. Allen was instructed to give her a clear look at the wound.

He complied albeit slowly. Aelia had shredded a towel to pieces by the time he was finished unbuttoning the outer layer of his Caeli uniform and the white shirt underneath enough to expose the wound. He was being foolish. Millerna was nothing but a consummate professional in her treatment.

"It's not really that bad," she pronounced. "It's a clean, fairly shallow puncture wound. Certainly better than a giant metal tendril to the abdomen. I should clean it and put a thick bandage over it. No stitches required."

"A giant what?" Aelia asked. She was relieved Allen's wound was superficial but the other injury sounded dreadful. What had he been up to without telling her?

Allen wasn't about to tell her now. He needed a happy Aelia in the kitchen whose only concern was that nothing got burned. "I think Princess Millerna can handle everything now. If you want to get back to the dinner…"

"Oh, the roast!" Aelia had completely forgotten it the second she saw Allen. She couldn't let the main dish cook into jerk.

"It's sweet how protective she is," Millerna mused while she doused one of the towel strips in alcohol.

"It is nice having someone so motherly around."

"I imagine it would distress her to see this." Without any additional warning, Millerna pressed the soaked strip over Allen's wound.

"Yes," Allen agreed through gritted teeth. His pain tolerance was high but everyone had limits.

Millerna was very thorough. She knew it hurt but Natal was a bird of prey and there was no telling into what else her talons had been sunk. An infection would be far worse than the wound itself. Once she was satisfied the wound was sterile, she applied the make-shift bandages, trying to use as few as possible so Allen wouldn't have to greet his guests with a lump on his shoulder.

"Thank you, Princess," Allen said after the job was done. He flexed his shoulder slightly to judge how much movement he'd be able to make without reopening the injury. Satisfied that he could get through the party without looking suspicious, he redid his uniform. Minus some blood that would have to washed off, no one would be able to tell he'd been taloned. Good thing he was in the wash room.

"Millerna," she said abruptly as he grabbed for some soap.

Allen turned, wondering what that was about.

"Please, call me Millerna. Even though things will never work out to the way I once wanted them too, I would still like for you to be a friend rather than a knight in my service."

It was such a change from the last time she'd asked him to call her by her name. Eries had told him how much Millerna had matured. He'd taken her word for it – he'd always held Eries as a good judge of character – but it wasn't until now that he was seeing it for himself that he realized how much it meant for him and Eries, for all of them really. She was offering friendship devoid of all other attachments. Moreover, she was doing it freely, happily.

It was as if those two people who had talked on the palace rooftop back on that spring night were entirely removed from the two who sat in this washroom. The princess had stopped chasing a daydream. The knight was no longer lost in his past.

He'd never apologized to Millerna for how he'd treated her. He hadn't asked for her crush but neither had he done enough to dissuade it. He'd certainly not been honest to her about why it was so difficult to turn her away. He had the perfect chance to remedy that now and an even deeper obligation to go through with it. That's what a friend would do.

"I'm glad you would still consider me worthy of friendship," he said. "I didn't-"

"You didn't do anything," she filled in. "I took a crush and very nearly turned it into an obsession. You know how stubborn I am. I doubt there was anything you could have done to get through to me."

That wasn't true. They both knew the moment when Millerna had started questioning the fairytale love story she'd created. "I should have been honest with about Marlene. But I didn't know what to tell you, how to tell you. And there was a very pathetic part of me that enjoyed having the illusion of her back in my life. I'm sorry."

She'd suspected that since the moment she'd finished reading Marlene's diary. If he'd told it to her face back then she would closed her eyes and put her hands over her eyes and refused to believe. She liked it very much that she wasn't that girl anymore.

Hearing the truth settled any last remnants of emotion and for the first time since she'd first met him, Millerna felt completely at ease around Allen. No giddiness, no hesitation, no doubts, no false hopes. She understood how little, and how much, her feelings had meant.

"I guess we were both pretty pathetic," she said, smiling. "I cringe when I think of some of the things I said to Eries and Father. I'm sure she's told you all of them."

"No, she's told me how much you've grown up and how proud she is of you."

"Really…?" Eries had said the same to her, not in so many words, but the sentiment had been there. To know though that she'd spoken more plainly to someone else as if passing on a basic fact made it feel more real.

She put said fully-acknowledged maturity to good use. "You and Eries are so close. I guess she tells you everything."

He didn't lie. "We try to be completely open with each other."

"You care about her, don't you…more than as a friend? I know she has feelings for you… She's never said but I can sense it. I can-"

He raised his hand for her to stop. He'd believed that if the time came to tell Millerna about their relationship, it was Eries' territory to do so. But he owed Millerna his honesty. And he believed she was able to receive it.

"Yes," he admitted. "I care about her. She's always been a dear friend to me but I've come to realize she means much more to me."

"I see…" Millerna said, her head bowed. She knew this, had known it, but again, having it said aloud forced a new comprehension. She could be all right with this.

Better than all right, she would support this. "I know it will be difficult but I hope the two of you can find happiness."

"I have the same hope for you."

"Well," she laughed awkwardly, "It'll probably be easier for me. Father's never banished Dryden out to the swamps or accused him of treason." Funny, Allen hadn't specified her having to find her happiness with Dryden. Dryden had just popped into her head of his own accord.

"That does make things easier," he echoed her soft laughter. "But your acceptance means a great deal to me and to Eries."

"Actually, it means a lot to me too. I can't imagine the tantrum I would have thrown a year ago if you'd told me the same thing."

He laughed again. He thought he had a good idea of what that tantrum would have been like. He was impressed that he'd never see it come to be.

"I guess we better get back soon," she suggested. "The other guests should have arrived by now."

In fact, as soon as she was through, Kio announced the arrival of Van Fanel. He was still yelling but at least this time he yelled Van's full title and name. Allen, in tune to the manners of his crewmen, thought he caught the tiniest hint of mocking behind Kio's pronunciation of 'Slanzer'.

"We'd better get going now," he amended.

As they were about to enter the great room, Millerna held Allen back. "Tell Eries I'll talk to her when we get back to the palace. You'll have enough on your mind with the party and Chid being around."

He thanked her again for her understanding. Millerna had become a remarkable young woman – not the woman for him, but if anybody asked, he'd tell them Dryden was a lucky man.

0-0-0-0

Dryden's romantic luck did not extend to whose company he attracted at parties. Nuri had managed to shake Celena when she'd greeted Van, but now that Fanelia's king was doing his duty to mingle with Asturia's princesses and Freid's duke, Celena had found a new shield to hang around.

"I don't think I see the owl around anywhere," he said offhandedly.

She sighed as if he'd missed the most obvious thing in the world. "She's a bird of prey. They don't hold up big signs warning you that they're coming. Besides, she'll wait until Allen's out of the room to strike. She doesn't want him to know how evil she is."

_Then why are you hanging around me? More importantly, why am I trying to apply logic to the actions of Celena Schezar?_

Celena lowered her guard to snatch a glass of vino and a few appetizers off the tray Gaddes was lugging around the room. She didn't know how he was able to carry some that big and that heavy without dropping it. Not even a drop of vino spilled as he circulated.

"Brother was going to hire professional waiters," she told Dryden, "but he couldn't get anybody on short notice. It's kind of stupid throwing a party together that fast."

"He had his reasons." _Reasons he no doubt wants to keep from his sister._

"Did Eries ask him to do it? All this royalty around seems more like her thing. I know Allen and Van Fanel are friends and all, but anytime they get together, it's to spar. They're not dinner party type friends."

"uh, huh…" He had a sinking feeling she was steering the conversation in a very particular direction in which he would rather not head. Worse, he didn't think he could avoid it.

"That's why I think this an Eries thing. Allen would do anything to help her."

"That's what friends are for, I suppose."

"And they are really good friends. They have been for years – very, very close friends."

"So I hear…" Dryden was suddenly overcome with an urge for some more appetizers. The few he'd eaten had been very tasty. The fact that Gaddes and his tray were half-way across the room leant them another layer of desirability.

He mentioned his craving to Celena as part of his plan to excuse himself. She, unfortunately, was intent on making sure the guests of her home wanted for nothing. She whistled for Gaddes to come right over, which he promptly (and annoyingly did).

Dryden shoved a mushroom and cheese tartlet into his mouth and braced for whatever was coming.

"I could tell how close they were when she kept coming over to the house," Celena resumed. "She was so helpful to me and Allen and I could tell how much she enjoyed it too. It was like she was family, you know, like a sister…_to me_."

_But not a sister to Allen? _Dryden noted. He was relieved that Celena seemed to be doing little more than fishing for in-laws. For some reason, she thought (and was eerily right) that he must have the goods on how close she was to reeling one in. Alas for Celena, possession of knowledge did not equate intent to distribute. He would keep his mouth shut and full of tartlet.

"Yep, this was definitely for Eries. I think it's sweet myself. What do you think?"

He shrugged and continued chewing on his appetizer, appreciating the thick, gooey cheese for more than its flavor.

"Oh, come on," Celena persisted. "You have to think something. You see them together around the palace all day. You have to have an opinion."

"Nope, that's not really required. Sometimes people don't care one way or the other."

"Wouldn't not caring be an opinion?"

"Lack of an opinion does not constitute an opinion in and of itself."

Celena looked at him intently. "So are you saying you actually do lack an opinion or are you telling me all this crap because you don't want to say what the opinion you supposedly don't have is?"

And to think he had questioned Celena's logic. The girl was craving him up like a prime cut of meat and he hadn't even noticed she was packing knives.

"What makes you think I have an insight into your brother's relationship with Eries? I really only see Eries at summit meetings and Allen spends the whole day standing behind us not talking to her."

"Jeez, you're defensive. I just asked if you thought it was sweet that Allen was throwing a party because Eries asked him to. You act like something's going on between them."

"I never said that!"

"You didn't not say it."

He didn't know what that meant to prepare a non-misconstrueable answer. He wasn't going to try. Celena had already gotten a pot roast out of him. He wasn't going to let her go for a filet-mignon.

"Hey, I think I heard Millerna call for me. Can't keep the pseudo-wife waiting."

"Oh, sure," Celena chirped. "Love is super important. I hope you enjoy the rest of the party. I certainly enjoyed our little chat!"

He had no doubt she did. What he didn't know is how much real information she'd gotten from it. He wasn't sure how she'd gotten any information period.

He knew one thing. If Celena Schezar was rooting for something, a wise man would not take odds against it.

0-0-0-0

Freidian architecture was vastly different from Asturian architecture. That was the excuse Allen used to explain Chid's fascination with the Schezar estate. After being stitched up by Millerna, Allen had offered to take Van, Nuri and Chid on a quick tour. Chid, however, was determined to upgrade quick into the most exhaustive tour ever given.

They'd finally made it out to the garden, which rated a 'nice' from Van, a nod that it existed from Nuri and wide eyes from Chid.

Ponds in a backyard probably were a rarity in the notoriously arid Freid but it couldn't have been the first time Chid had seen one. He acted as if it were nonetheless.

Chid stood on his tiptoes in the gazebo to be able to look over the railing at the pond. The twin moons weren't terribly bright tonight and clouds kept drifting in front of them to keep their reflection from the water but Chid kept watching the pond.

"It's very peaceful here," he declared in a small voice. Allen didn't think a boy his age should be contemplating the peacefulness of a scene. He should just be enjoying it or better yet, cheerfully disrupting it with play.

Van, lounging against the railing Chid struggled to see over, was thinking similar thoughts. He felt overwhelmed at times trying to pull Fanelia back together and he was three times Chid's age.

Nuri drew Allen aside to leave both the young rulers to their moments of peace. "Let the boy enjoy it," he told Allen. "The Duke seldom has time such as this. We can keep an eye on him while taking in the rest of the garden."

Allen made an attempt to finish this pared down tour, but neither he nor Nuri were interested in how resilient the trees were or what good wood they yielded. He rambled through these explanations, mostly repeating what he'd heard from Aelia, until they'd traveled to the far end of the garden. There Nuri spoke what was truly on his mind.

"I did not want for him to come but when I mentioned your intentions for a dinner party, it was his most fervent wish to attend. I could think of no excuse as to why he should not while I did and in fact, his attendance here would neatly explain mine to any outsiders."

Allen nodded. It made sense. Nuri had been looking for an excuse. It would have been foolish to turn away one so perfect when it had been offered freely. Less perfect was Nuri's reluctance to let Chid come. He'd caught Nuri giving him odd looks more than once. Eries had mentioned odder talk from him concerning Chid. It wasn't hard to deduce Nuri had suspicions.

"It's good that you understand I only allowed him to be here out of expediency," Nuri continued. "I don't want you to think this will occur again."

Forget suspicions, Nuri was acting as if he had cold hard facts. "I don't think I know what you mean…" Allen said carefully.

"You know I don't care for talking in circles so let me be perfectly blunt. Having heard all of Chid's tales of you – tales his mother all but drilled into him – having heard of your assignment to Duchess Marlene before her departure to Freid and frankly, having the eyes to see the boy, I think it obvious that my cousin isn't-"

"Don't," Allen stopped him. "As far as Chid is concerned, Mahad dal Freid is his father."

"Chid is young. What if his concerns change?"

It galled Allen how casually Nuri asked that question; not only because of the sheer significance of it but because of how often Allen had asked himself the same question in agony from the moment he'd learned she was pregnant.

Such queries remained soul searching but they had grown less painful and less frequent, mostly because he no longer asked that question alone but discussed it with Eries. He had no desire to be so open with Nuri, but if he wanted this settled, he saw no other choice.

Allen met Nuri's eyes, determined to say his piece without ever letting the other man know how much it had hurt – and still hurt – to accept what he was about to repeat. "King Aston told Eries something which she passed on to me. However much I might wish it otherwise, I feel it is the truth. Chid is Duke Freid's son in spirit. He will grow up doing his utmost to fulfill the legacy that was left to him and be the ruler of Freid the Duke believed he would be. If, one day, he does discover the truth, it won't change his concerns because the only concern he will have is Freid."

"You would so easily let go your claim on him?"

"I don't have much of a claim. And the only way to honor what little I do have is to do what's best for him. I refuse to undermine his claim to leadership of Freid and I will do _my_ utmost to see that no else would try."

Nuri studied him even more intently than he had at dinner the other night after Allen had praised Mahad. He found sincerity, in both emotion and the thinly veiled threat towards him should he use what he'd confirmed tonight against Chid.

"You need not worry, Schezar. I wish my circumstances were otherwise as well, but Mahad chose Chid to succeed him. So I have to lay aside whatever misgivings I may have at having a boy for a Duke and support him. My concerns were more for you trying to use him to keep Freid under Asturia's influence."

Now Nuri was finding Allen to be sincerely angry. He knew his habit of speaking plainly rubbed people the wrong way, but Nuri hadn't realized how insulting it could be until Allen had let out a small gasp of disgust.

"Forgive me," Nuri said quickly. "I did not mean to imply that you would do such a thing. I came here with only vague notions of who you might be. The notions have been clarified. I know you won't exploit Chid."

"So that's what this was then? You wanted to make sure I wouldn't try to steal your influence?"

"My influence?" Nuri repeated, shocked. "I told you I have no interest in wresting leadership from Chid. I mean that both literally and metaphorically. I would not make the boy into a puppet!"

"You merely assume everyone else would."

"I…" Getting indignant was futile and hypocritical. He'd hurled his accusations readily enough. He should suffer the reverse honorably. "I suppose it's natural to suspect me of that. In fairytales, it's always the evil relative that leads the good ruler astray."

"I wouldn't think you were one for listening to those things."

"I am not," Nuri sighed. "But Chid is rather fond of them, particularly those involving knights..."

"I had no idea Marlene was telling him about me, especially not like that. I thought I'd done enough in Freid to disenchant him but it looks as if I was wrong." Allen cast a look over to the gazebo where Chid was still enthusiastically pointing out different parts of the garden to Van. "He's so young though. Children can have so much faith..."

Allen was sure Nuri was going to spell out how bad misplaced faith could be. But Nuri's unpredictability surfaced again. "That isn't necessarily to their disadvantage. As he grows older, he'll need to become more jaded, but there are many noble aspirations to be found through idealism. And while one should always be wary, the opposite is true. I've assumed the worst of men only to be proven wrong."

Figuring it was as close to an apology as he was liable to get, Allen simply nodded at Nuri. "It could be problematic though, if he keeps talking about me, especially if you're not the only person with suspicions."

"People can have all the suspicions they wish. As long as he has the backing of the monks, no one will dare voice them. And as long as he remains worthy of it, I assure you, Kaja and I guarantee he will always have that backing."

"As long as he remains…?" Allen questioned.

"I spoke too harshly. The boy has yet to start his training but I am sure he will uphold the tradition of honor taught to each of our monks. That is the legacy Mahad left to him. And," he conceded, "the ideals of honor for a monk are not so different from those of a knight."

How different things were in Freid than in Egzardia. Nuri had ample reason and opportunity to take Chid's title from him but refused to do so. His honor would not allow it. His faith in Mahad's faith in Chid would not allow it.

Allen had accepted in his head long ago that he could never be a father to Chid. His heart still needed to catch up but knowing that men like Nuri and Kaja would be there for Chid instead brought some relief. Knowing that Nuri would do nothing to dissuade Chid of his fondness for the knight of Marlene's tales brought more.

0-0-0-0

When Allen and his guests came back inside, the dinner party was in full swing. Marqesita had arrived with Alucier at her side, or more accurately, a few paces to her back as a proper guard should be. Allen, used to going through the same routine with Eries, didn't think anything was amiss. Revius however was reading everything he could into it.

"Everybody here already knows about you, so what's her problem?" he asked Alucier in a whisper.

That statement was factually incorrect on several levels. Chid, Celena and Nuri shouldn't either know or care. And then there was the matter of Alucier and Marqesita never actually having established what is was about them in the first place. Alucier would love to know too.

He'd fake it in the meantime. "She's being proper. This is a formal dinner party even if you are on the guest list. And Chid's a little kid and Nuri and Celena are…well, they're Nuri and Celena."

"I wouldn't count on Celena not noticing. She'll bat those big, innocent blue eyes at you pretending not to have a clue while she's really thinking about what to wear to the wedding."

"Uh, huh, Celena's that sneaky. Next you'll have her being the mastermind behind all the plots at the summit."

"I said she was crafty, not evil. I don't think Allen would like to know what you think of his sister."

Alucier would have told him not to twist his words but you can't ask a man to give up a hobby he's had for years just like that.

Proof of Celena's true nature came when she finally got a non-Nuri obscured look at Chid. She walked over to him with the intention of asking how he'd enjoyed the tour Allen had taken him on. That intention evaporated the second he turned to her and with a big smile said she had a very lovely family estate.

Numerous etiquette lessons that Aelia had drilled into her told her the proper response was to thank him and express how welcome he was in this very lovely family estate. But Celena couldn't do anything but stare at him, her jaw slack. She couldn't stop thinking that Chid would be, in fact, really, really, _really_ welcome in their family estate.

"Is something wrong, Miss Celena?" Chid asked after the staring had gotten too uncomfortable.

She recovered, not gracefully, but quickly. "I was just thinking what a neat little hat you have." She flicked the tassel on top of the hat a few times for emphasis.

Revius stopped his grilling of Alucier to ask him, "Are you seeing her do that too?"

Eries spied it as well. She zipped across the room to grab Celena by the arm. "Excuse me, Chid. I need to borrow Celena for a moment. There's a question about how to serve the main dish. If you'll come to the kitchen with me, Celena…"

"I thought that's where Allen went when we came back," Chid said.

"Brother's bad with food. No aesthetics whatsoever. Blech."

Eries grabbed the arm she had hold of tighter. "We'll be right back," she told Chid.

Eries pulled Celena past the kitchen and into the same washroom Millerna and Allen had used earlier. She didn't know why it was so difficult to drag the girl. Celena was most eager to talk.

"What is going on here? I may not have too many memories of my childhood but I do know what Allen looked like when he was young. And if I didn't, I just would have gotten a great reminder! And I saw how Allen froze when the Freidians came in and I don't think it's because that Nuri guy is so grumpy!"

"Celena…"

"Oh, god…Chid is Princess Marlene's kid and Gaddes told me all about how Allen used to be her guard! And when we lived in town, I heard all kinds of rumors about Allen because when people think you're stupid they'll be really stupid around you and say whatever they want about your family because they think you don't know what they're saying. But I did! And they were not saying nice things!"

"Celena…"

"Is it true? It can't be true, because that's really bad. And it'll be all weird because you're Princess Marlene's sister…"

"Celena! I cannot tell you if something is true or not if you don't slow down and let me figure out what you're saying!"

Celena stopped entirely. She was out of breath from saying so much. The mild panic attack she was having wasn't helping either. She took a minute to calm down before asking Eries point blank, "So am I an aunt or what?"

It might not have been Eries' responsibility or right to answer, but it couldn't be avoided. Celena would nag her to death before letting her leave this room without the truth. Eries could get something from Celena in return though.

"That's a rather astute observation for a girl known for building castles with her food."

"It was a fort," Celena corrected, "and it was fun. Okay, so I might be a little more observant than I let on, but if everybody thought I was a normal young woman they'd expect me to act like one."

She wasn't wrong. Even with the allowances made with her 'special circumstances', Celena had been bombarded with rules on how to dress and how to act. For this party alone, Aelia had run her through the etiquette paces. It would have been so much worse if anybody had known how capable their would-be student truly was.

Celena listed other advantages too. "And things like the hat flicking? Normal people can't get away with that."

"I don't think normal people would be flicking a hat in the first place."

"Oh, come on. The way that tassel pops out of the top? It's practically begging to be flicked."

It was also possible that while everyone had underestimated Celena's capacity for normalcy, the girl had overestimated her own ability to achieve that state. Eries might concede that Chid's hat was cute (Tellot had seemed enthralled by it) but to reach the point of flicking…

What was she thinking about? She was contemplating the flickiness of hats when she should be having a serious conversation. "Celena, what you just said about Chid-"

"I know. It's big, secret stuff. I won't repeat it to anybody. But I don't think many people will be needing me to tell them anything once Chid gets older."

"The vast majority of people in Freid and Asturia will never know what both Allen and Chid look like to make a comparison. And is it really that obvious?" Eries had noticed the resemblance but she knew to look for it. And Chid had, after all, inherited Marlene's hair color and texture. That small difference might throw off anyone without too much familiarity with father and son.

"It's the eyes," Celena said. "When you hear all your life how gorgeous those blue Schezar eyes are, you kind of notice them in other people."

"That's it?"

"Well, like I said, there are those rumors about Allen. I'm not sure what half of them mean because that anatomy book Dr. Atrineau left me only uses technical terms and I can't think of anybody who'd explain them to me without exploding. You should have seen how red Gaddes turned when I asked him."

It was unlikely it was any redder than Eries was starting to turn. She cleared her throat and tried to carry on the good fight. "There are rumors about Allen and Marlene?"

"Princess Marlene? No, I never heard her name and I heard a bunch of others. Aelia would let me hang out with other maids thinking I'd pick up tips on managing a household, but that's not what I really heard most of the time. It wasn't just stuff about Allen either. Every female in Palas apparently knows who Revius is. I think Aelia thinks all other maids are like her, so honest and respectful, but a lot of them? Are not. At all. I'm really glad we have her."

_Somebody's going to have to have a very long talk with her, _Eries thought. As usual, the list of potential talkers had her name at the top and without company. Allen, even the new and improved version, wouldn't explode; he'd simply fall over dead. Aelia's corpse would land on top of his.

"Eh, Celena, I was thinking. When I have some free time, perhaps you and I should discuss certain…_things_."

Celena remembered other discussions she'd had with Eries about _things. _A great deal of her affection for Eries came from how uncomfortable Eries had been yet how she'd persevered anyway because Celena really did need a female to explain those wonderful cramps she got every month and the even more wonderful thing that followed.

And honestly, Celena would not have been comfortable herself hearing any of it from somebody other than Eries.

"Sure, Eries, once this summit thing is over and you're back to spending your days out here."

Eries didn't know how long that would be. Neither did she know if it were feasible for her to spend so much time at this house once the summit was over. Initially, no one thought anything of it. Celena did need help after all and Eries had provided support and a psychologist to speed her recovery along. But now she was mostly recovered and that excuse would evaporate.

Of course, the only people who knew this were Celena and Eries with Celena having known for some time that she was fine.

"How long exactly," Eries ventured, "have you been putting up this act?"

"It's not an act! I mean, I just say and do what I want to do anyway. The only difference is that I kind of know better."

"How much better?"

Celena wished she hadn't confessed so readily. Spazzing out would have been a great way to avoid answering Eries' question. "Could you be more specific?"

Stalling tactic that it was, Eries still met it head on. "Specifically, have you been feigning…" Illness didn't seem to be the right word. Oddness was dead on but felt rude. "Have you ever used _your situation_ to get me to, um…."

"Climb a tree?" Celena snickered.

Eries had suspected something was up back then. Vindication was a nice thing, but not terribly useful in these circumstances. "I'm thinking of more than the tree. I'm thinking of comments you've made, your expectations that I'll be returning here after the summit."

"Could you be less specific?"

"Celena, have you been trying to keep me with you? Because you needn't worry that I'll abandon you for my responsibilities at the palace."

"Keep you with me? No, I." Celena stopped before naming her true purpose. She did want to keep Eries around but her highest priority was keeping Eries with someone else. "I guess I have been doing that," she covered.

Celena was cleverer than she had let on, but no less sensitive. Eries wanted to completely reassure her. "You don't have to pretend anything to make me care for you. You're like a sister to me."

"I think of you as a sister too." Technically, Celena's ultimate plans put Eries as a sister-in-law, but the sentiment was the same.

"Good, now that it's all settled, I think we should return to the party. Promise me you won't say anything about Chid."

"Promise me you won't say anything to Allen. He'll be crushed if he learns he doesn't have to so overprotective all the time."

"I don't think that's anything you have to worry about either," Eries laughed.

Celena laughed with her and together they left the washroom. She liked having a confidant. People (well, Revius) suspected her anyway so it felt nice to be able to finally admit everything. She wouldn't be able to push Eries in the direction she wanted her to go as easily but Allen could still be nudged by her flighty hand.

If she had been as truly calculating as Revius claimed she was, Celena might have realized her brother and Eries needed no pushing. But she wasn't quite there yet so in the meantime, she was determined to shove away.

0-0-0-0

Though his injury was on his shoulder, when Eries found Allen in a storage room a few minutes before dinner was to be served, he had a hand to his temple in the traditional sign of a headache.

"Too noisy?" she asked him. The party was small and had Nuri as a guest, but with Revius, Dryden and Celena also present, it sounded like a larger affair.

"No, that's not it. Aelia's missing some silverware and I have to dig through all these boxes to find it lest we force a guest to eat with his hands." He took a quick survey of the stacks before him. "There are only twenty-three of them and I have about five minutes to do it."

"Good thing I noticed you leaving and followed you here."

Allen was so grateful, he picked a box off the top of a stack and handed it to her. "They'll be in a black lacquered box."

Eries began rummaging. The box wasn't that big yet still managed to contain more knickknacks then she had in her entire bedroom. True, Eries was a sparse decorator but this was ridiculous. "Maybe we could put a bowl on the floor for Revius," she suggested.

Allen wasn't having much luck either. He held up a strange sculpture that looked like a ball with long, curved _somethings_ coming out of it. "We could break these things off and use them as utensils."

"What is half of this stuff anyway?"

He wasn't sure. "Things Mother collected. Things her mother collected. I'm sure there are trinkets dating back to the first Schezars. I've no idea which ones are valuable and which ones are junk I can shove back in the box and forget about."

"Small wonder you looked as if you had a headache when I came in."

He messaged his forehead again. "It's not the search for silverware that's giving me a headache."

He told Eries of his talk with Millerna, which was a good thing. He also told her about Nuri, which theoretically was a good thing but was an emotionally exhaustive thing as well, not that speaking with Millerna had been a breeze in that regard.

"So she knows," Eries said softly.

"You probably wanted to be the one that told her, but she was being so understanding about everything between her and I. It would have felt wrong to keep it from her."

She knew how that felt. Eries told him of the conversation with Celena, leaving out Celena's confession as promised.

"So she knows!" Allen said harshly.

"It's not a problem," Eries insisted. "I made it very clear to her that she is never to say a word of it to anyone else. She understood how important that is."

The adrenaline in his system from the initial shock wanted him to argue, but if Eries was sure Celena wouldn't cause any scandals then that was what he'd believe too. It still troubled him that Celena had figured it out so quickly. "How did she know?"

"Well," Eries drawled, "he is her nephew. Families can have a sense about these things."

"Could be." He shook his head. "There are just so many secrets going around. I suppose it was only a matter of time before some of them come to light."

"As long as we keep them among those that care for us and those that understand…"

"If only we could be so lucky," Allen sighed.

He opened the next box in line. Sitting on top, waiting to be discovered, was a black lacquered box.

0-0-0-0-0

Between Aelia and a couple of the cleaner Crusaders flitting around the dining table to keep the guests from want of food or drink and a few guests that weren't in on the cabal, mealtime discussion was kept to the normal pleasantries of these affairs. About the riskiest thing said was Millerna's faltering questions to Marqesita about Egzardian fashion. For this special evening, Marqesita had eschewed her military uniform and was back into a dress more suited to her tastes.

Millerna had doubts to how warm the dress, with its low front and no back to mention at all, could be. Marqesita laughed about how women suffer for fashion. Dryden, meanwhile, absently sipped his vino and wondered what Millerna would look like if she made the sacrifice to slip into something less comfortable.

Revius sat quietly, biting his lip and reminding himself he was in mixed company of both gender and age.

After dinner, most of the party retired back to the great room. The Caeli held out, announcing they would take a few sparring matches in the garden. Chid, Millerna and Celena were all encouraged to watch. Chid didn't need much persuading and neither did the two women. Though nobody had expressly spelled out why they should go, Millerna and Celena just knew that they should.

Alucier quibbled about leaving all that royalty unattended. "I know your house is out here by itself, but still, if somebody got word of this gathering…"

"My men are keeping an eye on the estate," Allen told him. "And I assure you, they're much more adept soldiers than butlers. Van's here too. Not many people would want to fight the man who could take him."

Van's sword, as usual, was hanging in its scabbard at his side. And if what Nuri had told Alucier about monks was true, Nuri was armed with a small dagger concealed somewhere on his person. Alucier had never asked him where it was. Nuri hadn't said so, but another thing Alucier had picked up from the monk lecture series was that monks were pretty touchy about being questioned. They'd be even touchier about being attacked.

Dryden was the first to talk after the Caeli and their audience had left. Slouched in the comfiest chair in the room, he sighed and said, "Okay, you're now free to make your pitch for me to join up with you."

Marqesita went with a simple message. "We're right, they're wrong. Whose side would you rather be on?"

"Can we define who the 'they' in 'they're' are first?"

"The group Meiden is working with," Eries said. Hadn't she explained this to him?

Dryden didn't mention that the group no longer existed and wasn't even that together to begin with. Meiden had pegged him correctly. So long as he wasn't technically up to anything, Dryden wouldn't rat him out. His mother would get _so_ mad.

He did feel at liberty to at least steer Eries and her friends towards a conspiracy free direction. "Are you sure he's even working with anybody anymore? He's been effectively kicked out the summit and let's not forget somebody tried to frame him."

"You think someone framed him to get him away from the summit?" Van asked.

"Actually," Marqesita admitted, "we don't know why Meiden was framed. We believe my country's parliament was behind the attack and we know their motive for it and for framing my other brother, Bennor but we're not sure where Meiden fits into this."

Nuri didn't care for the uncertainty. "Shouldn't determining that be a priority? We're dealing with very calculating people. Targeting Meiden Fassa can't be random."

"Perhaps not," Eries countered. "Meiden did meet with Bennor before the summit. While both men claim nothing came from those meetings, an outsider might interpret otherwise. That, of course, is exactly what we did. Meiden being implicated might be nothing more than a side-effect of trying to frame Bennor."

"Might be…" Nuri wasn't impressed. "And if it's not?"

"Once we find out who set up this mess, we can ask them why they targeted Meiden," Marqesita said. She directed a look at Dryden. "This process might be sped up if Fassa would cough up the names of his contacts in Parliament."

Dryden had not failed at his task at getting the names, only at reporting he had the names. He remedied this by retrieving the list from inside his robes and handing it to Marqesita. "I figure some of those will look familiar."

No one congratulated Dryden for contribution. All attention was on Marqesita, who read over the list, punctuating it with 'I should have known that jerk would cut deals with outsiders' and 'I'm not surprised he's on here'. Two names warranted the latter comment but none of them jumped out to her as a likely suspect. The people on the list might have been relieved to hear that but no one present was.

"So those aren't such good leads, huh?" Dryden asked.

"Better than nothing." Marqesita reread the list, hoping she was forgetting something.

Van was an unlikely cheerleader, reminding everyone, "We are dealing with secretive people. They're not going to advertise their intentions so you can tell right off what they're up to."

"Oh, I know," Marqesita sighed. "But the people on this list…they're merchants and businessmen like Fassa. They're interested in money, not politics. As long as whoever gets the crown keeps our trade policies the way they are – and neither Bennor nor I have indicated any intent to change them – they have no reason to get interested in politics."

Eries wouldn't let the suspicions be dismissed so easily. "If they're businessmen like Meiden, they're already involved in politics. You do remember why we joined together in the first place?"

That was a good opening for Dryden to spill the secret of Meiden's failed plans, but he kept to himself. It wasn't family loyalty keeping him silent this time. Dryden was lost in thought.

_Dad said he met with a Cesarian for his plans. And he fessed up to meeting with Bennor. He didn't say anything about any other Egzardians. Why would he come clean about those two but keep mum about some parliament guys?_

_Duh, because those other Egzardians weren't involved in the same plan. They're just after screwing up the succession._

_But they did set Dad up. What if it wasn't a side-effect like Eries thinks? What if it was intentional? How many secret conspiracies can there be out there? There are only a set number of delegates. Can't have too many cabals without some overlap._

_These guys aren't delegates though. They're parliament guys just interested in Egzardia._

_How come they seem to be able to affect what's going on here so much then? Good bosses don't outsource their most important contracts. They've got to have somebody high up here to keep an eye on things._

Dryden must have spaced out while having his internal debate because everyone was staring at him and he had no idea what they were expecting from him.

He stared back. "What?"

Marqesita repeated what he'd missed with a huff. "Did your father say if he had ever talked to any of these men about Eries? They'd played her – me, too, no need to frown like that, Eries – pretty easily. You were supposed to ask him about that."

He had asked Meiden. Meiden, however, couldn't remember a single conversation about Eries. In fact, the opposite was true. "That's the thing. He said he never talked about her because he didn't want to give anybody the impression that he wasn't completely in control. And she was off the council before the summit began anyway. He didn't know she'd be at the summit until she showed up that morning with the writ from King Aston."

Despite Marqesita's admonition, Eries frowned. That timeline was correct. Meiden hadn't known she'd resume her place on the council while formulating his plans. He could have guessed she'd go after it, that her father would consent and formed a contingency plan based on that assumption. But what then of the Egzardia's parliament? The only representatives they had here were Tellot, Bennor and Marqesita – nobody from Parliament was here to make such adjustments.

Everyone was confused. The lead they were hoping for was dead-ending.

Some though, still held out hope. "Parliament would be able to gauge my behavior," Marqesita said, "and it's known that Eries is my friend. They might have assumed we'd act similarly and gotten lucky."

Unsurprisingly, Nuri was not as optimistic. He was instead coldly logical. "But how would they know to make Meiden Fassa look guilty from that? Do you spend your time telling your countrymen how much a friend of yours despises one of her countrymen or is Princess Eries' distaste for him is so legendary, knowledge of it is crossing borders?"

"I think," Eries said tersely, "you are overstating the nature of my relationship with Meiden."

Dryden took a second to stare at her before breaking out into laughter. "I think he nailed it on the head, actually."

Aston had told her to tone down her attitude towards Meiden lest it come back to haunt her. A good place to start would be his son. "I admit, Meiden and I tend to be rather…_negative_…to each other, but I don't hate him."

"You slapped him across the face."

"Yes, well, he was being extremely volatile himself," Eries said over snickers from Marqesita and a stare of genuine marvel from Van. "It was a rash thing to do and I admit I should have checked my temper more-"

"Yeah, after the fact you admit it. But during the fact, slap, slap, slap."

"During the fact, your father was hurling rather slanderous accusations. Surely he did not expect me to simply take them without a response?"

Dryden had intended for her to calmly examine her actions, not for her to get defensive. And she was right about his father. He had expected her to respond. He had counted on it.

Dryden had promised not to directly come out and tell Eries Meiden's scheme, but he'd never said anything to anybody about not trying to get his sister-in-law and his father to stop tearing into each other. It might avert the two of them getting used for somebody else's scheme again. It would definitely save Dryden a headache or two.

"All right, you and dad really don't like each other. I won't say hate because he denies it too, but come on, you're one step shy of dueling to the death at midnight."

"I wouldn't go that far…"

"You go that far all the time! You call him a weasel and automatically assume the worst of him. You're always sniping at each other with these snide passive-aggressive exchanges, which, I'll admit, are kind of funny, but you need to learn when to let it drop!"

"Um," Van interjected slowly, "aren't we supposed to figuring out who planned the attack and what to do about it? Not arguing this, uh –"

"Family crap," Marqesita supplied.

Eries corrected her immediately. "This is political business."

But Dryden corrected her correction. "No, it is family crap. He's my father. You're my sister-in-law. Your sister, whom I'm sure has received an earful from you about my old man, is his daughter-in-law. Do you see how we're all connected here?"

The connection was tight too. If things worked out between Dryden and Millerna the way everyone wanted them too, they were going to get tighter and stay that way for a very long time. And that meant if Eries and Meiden wanted any sort of peace for the ones they loved, they were going to have to accept that connection, or, at the very least, be quiet about it.

"Forgive me, Dryden," Eries said. "I knew I was putting you in a difficult position but I didn't realize how difficult it truly was. It never even occurred to me that I was doing the same to Millerna. I can't guarantee my dealings with Meiden will be pleasant in the future, but I will keep your feelings in mind."

"Hey, no problem. It's easy to get so wrapped up in what you're doing, you lose sight of who you're doing it to. Peace?" Dryden extended his hand across the table that separated them for a traditional conciliatory handshake.

"Isn't this heartwarming," Nuri commented. "Now can we get back to the business at hand? Your father, whether Princess Eries is yelling at him or not, is partaking in a plot that could prove deleterious to our interests. Someone is conspiring to alter Egzardia's succession. We need to deal with these issues first."

_Oh, boy. Talk about a difficult position. _Dryden's resolve to keep Meiden's secret weakened. All he would be doing really is clearing his father's name and taking away an unneeded distraction from the conspiracy that actually existed. It was the right thing to do in every sense except for his promise to Meiden. But if he could get Eries to promise to bury the hatchet, Meiden had no reason to continue to provoke her.

That's how Dryden saw it. Meiden would probably disagree, but he wasn't here. So Dryden extended a peace offering in his name. "Dad's not plotting anything, not anymore. He had something going with a Cesarian guy but that plan went poof. He's just keeping up appearances to get a rise out of Eries and throw her off her game for local politics."

Interesting that Dryden felt relief when everyone else felt anger at this revelation.

"That little weasel!" Marqesita shouted on Eries' behalf.

"You can't be serious," Eries gaped.

Van and Nuri shook their heads, grateful that the politics of their respective countries weren't nearly so convoluted and nasty.

"Look, I only told you so we could focus on the real problem. Dad's going to be pissed that I said anything but 'the greater good' and all that."

People had done a lot in the name of the greater good. Eries had just vowed to be more considerate and bite her tongue around Meiden.

Now she was wondering what the little weasel's contribution could be. Playing along with the house arrest didn't seem like enough anymore.

"You said Meiden had dealings with a Cesarian?" she started.

"Yeah, but it fell apart because the guy was too nervous about being caught."

"You sure about that?" Van asked.

"Look, I know when my dad's lying to me. He wasn't. He's not dealing with the Cesarian anymore." Dryden's inner voices spoke up again with their earlier qualms. _What if the Cesarian is dealing with someone else instead? Somebody Egzardian?_

Dryden wanted to know more about this failed conspiracy. Eries was right there with him. "We don't have any leads into Egzardia's parliament. And it may be completely unrelated, but I think we should pursue the information we do have available to us."

"Wait," Marqesita said, "you want the little weasel to help us?"

"He already was in preparing that list of Parliament members. But now I do think we need to be more direct instead of relying on Dryden to relay the information."

Now Dryden was protesting. "He's going to be pissed as it is that I told you. I really don't think he's going to be in the mood to be interrogated by all of you. Let me handle it."

Eries would like to let Dryden do just that. Time not spent in Meiden's company was time well spent in her opinion. But whoever planned Tellot's attack had also planned on her being at odds with Meiden. They'd succeeded because of her grudge against him. If there was a chance that they would fail because she was able to drop that grudge and work with him, she needed to do it.

"Our enemy is using us against each other," Eries said. "We can't afford any more missteps. I don't know if this Cesarian Meiden was involved with has anything to do with what we're facing now, but we can't assume anything anymore. We need all the information Meiden can give us."

"So what are you proposing?" Marqesita asked. "We're going to knock on Fassa's door and say 'Hi! We were secretly plotting against you but we need your help, so let's just let bygones be bygones and be pals!'?"

Eries would never call Meiden a 'pal' no matter how much help she needed from him. But she would call him an associate if she had to.

And she had to.

"None of you have to do anything you don't wish to do and I know some of you have no reason to trust Meiden at all." Eries nodded to Van, who looked like he'd never call Meiden anything but the man who'd kidnapped Hitomi. "But it might show Meiden how serious we are if we presented a unified front. He might be willing to be more open with us."

"He might tell us all to go to hell," Marqesita said.

Dryden guessed that's exactly what his father would tell Eries if she approached him alone. They wouldn't necessarily have strength in numbers, but with more people to spread Meiden's distaste around on, they would have less weakness. "Yeah, well, we can tell him to go to hell right back. Then maybe get Eries to smack him around a bit until he agrees to talk."

"I thought you-"

"Joke, Eries. It was a joke. But I think you're right about this. Something's been bugging me too about this other plot. If that feeling pans out, we're ahead of the game. If it doesn't…we wasted a couple hours of our time and are at the same spot we're at now."

"Very little risk for potentially large gain," Nuri assessed. "I think we should speak with him."

Marqesita voted for it too. "That's three out of five already. Since it doesn't matter what I or King Van say, I might as well come out on the side of the victors."

Somewhat reluctantly, Van made it unanimous. "There are too many people hiding things at this summit. The more out in the open we get everything, I think the better we'll be."

Eries recalled the various conversations she and Allen had had this evening. So much had come out and it really did feel that it was all for the better.

Tomorrow, she would get to see if extending that same honesty to Meiden would reap the same reward.

0-0-0-0

Author's Note: If it seems like a lot of personal matters got resolved in this chapter, it's because I really am trying to wrap all the plot threads up. Yes, folks, the end is in sight. It's that little speck way off in the distance, but I am getting there.

Next Up: Meiden and Eries bury the hatchet? Tellot puts two and two together and actually gets four? Aston is nice(ish) to Allen? Bennor is nice to everyone? Believe!


	29. Two Shots of Happy, One Shot of Sad

Intrigues of a Princess

XXVII: Two Shots of Happy, One Shot of Sad

The next day, as soon as the summit let out, Eries returned to the Fassa estate. Allen did not come. Instead, Alucier served as her guard. It only made sense for him to come because the whole point of the visit was to investigate into Tellot's attack. Alucier should be there anyway. It was a two birds, one stone kind of thing. That it also kept Allen away from Meiden's barbs was a nice bonus bird too.

In fact, she was glad her colleagues had reconsidered and voted for her to be their only representative other than Dryden to attend. Their rationale was that the two of them knew Meiden the best. Everyone else being there might prove overwhelming. Intimidating was how Dryden had put it when he'd first pitched that less would be more but neither Van nor Nuri had a problem with that until he'd reworded.

Eries' rationale was a bit different. If worse came to worse, Dryden had already seen how vicious she and Meiden could get. Alucier had heard about it. Neither would be surprised and they both knew how to handle it. She didn't want the others to see that side of her.

She was hoping it wouldn't come out. Her promise to Dryden was fresh in her mind. His presence at her side should keep it that way. Meiden, however, had made no such pledge. He'd only agreed to cooperate peaceably with the upcoming inquisition, though Dryden swore it had taken very little prodding on his part to get his father to make that agreement.

Eries believed Dryden was taking numerous liberties with the details. Meiden couldn't possibly be happy that his son had shared his secrets, especially with his political rival. Livid was Eries' guess at Meiden's true mood. She was going to think positively though. Sort of. She thought if she braced herself to enter the most hostile territory imaginable that the real situation would have to be better.

Or there was a slim chance it would be better.

Dryden led them past the front door over to a walkway that went to a side door. "The front door's only for formal, unexpected or otherwise unwanted guests," he explained.

"Are you sure I don't fit into the unwanted category?" Eries asked.

"Eh, Alucier and I don't. Two out of three ain't bad." They walked the rest of the way to the side door in silence. "That was joke by the way. Ha. Ha."

"Ha. Ha," Eries repeated without enthusiasm. "At least you're in a good mood."

"Or I like covering my nervous mood with lame jokes."

"Hey, I do that," Alucier said. "But my jokes are good."

They entered the Fassa home. "Dad, we're here!" Dryden called out.

A shout came from the library instructing them to come to him. Dryden led the way. Leaning over to Alucier, he whispered, "I hope you have a whole routine worked out."

The Fassa library was second only to the Royal Library in size. It ranked higher in denying accessibility to the public. Meiden had made it his refuge, more so than even his office because here he was able to actually relax amongst the shelves brimming with books and the occasional sculptures that served as bookends. The fireplace was roaring despite the weather being fairly mild. Meiden soaked up the heat on the large couch that sat to the fireplace's immediate right. He motioned for his son and guests to take seats in the chairs he'd thoughtfully set out before hand.

Dryden, knowing to never let a lady sweat and figuring a Caeli uniform was the equivalent of a wool blanket, took the chair closest to the fire. "Jeez, Dad, are you trying to melt us?"

"You know I like it warm."

The first thought that popped into Eries' head was that that was good thing considering where Meiden was likely to spend his afterlife. That would _not_ be good way to start.

"There's warm," Dryden groused, "and there's stifling." He was so uncomfortable he removed his outer robe, revealing loose fitting tunic and trousers underneath. Eries and Alucier stared. "What? Did you think I was naked under there?"

"Oh, this is starting wonderfully," Alucier said under his breath.

Meiden heard him and couldn't agree more. "Can we forget this nonsense and get to the point? Dryden has informed me of your deep curiosity about the Cesarian chancellor. He's also informed me I have no choice but to indulge that curiosity."

"I didn't say you had to!"

"No, Dryden, you chose your words more carefully than that, but the meaning was all the same."

The primary focus of Eries' curiosity shifted from the Cesarian to what Dryden had said to his father. The suggestions at Allen's party had been appealing to the greater good of Asturia while pointing out Asturia was his largest market – a mixture of idealism and plain old cynicism. No one had suggested that Dryden employ any strong arm techniques, not from any squeamishness at employing them but from doubt that Dryden would go through with them.

"Sure, Dad, whatever you say. Now, like you said, can we forget this nonsense and get to the point?"

After a long sigh, Meiden told his story. He mostly watched the fire as he talked, sparing the occasional glance at Alucier and none at all at Eries.

"He was a contact from when I used to sell textiles in Cesario. He's from an old family that made their wealth in clothing. Helped him get a deal with the government for his company to make all of Cesario's military uniforms. It was too good of a deal actually. His company grew to the point they started producing their own cloth and he didn't need me anymore."

"Dad? The point? Will you be approaching it soon?"

"I'd be there if you had let me keep talking," Meiden snapped. "Anyway, as his wealth grew, he moved into politics and eventually became chancellor of Cesario's economic council. He had big plans. He thought he could include me in them. I had my influence in Asturia's government, he said, plus, he owed me one.

"He saw an opportunity with this summit. Zaibach, Freid and Fanelia were all weak. Basram needed to do some serious atonement for having and then dropping that bomb. The rumors from Egzardia were that the king didn't have long to live. Really, it was only Asturia and Cesario that had any strength to speak of. He wanted to use that strength."

Meiden yawned as if the secret dealings of world powers were utterly mundane. To him, these secret dealings were. They'd gone nowhere, produced nothing of benefit. His interest in them had completely fled. Alas, he had three guests that felt the exact opposite.

So he continued. "He and I had numerous other contacts. He was the one that got in touch with Bennor e' Egzard. I was just the one who had to meet with the boy. And that's when I noticed the pattern forming. He'd set these meetings up but didn't want to attend. He was good at planning, not execution, he claimed. The truth was that he didn't have the guts to do the hard work. 'If anyone discovered I was meeting foreign leaders in secret, I could lose my position on the economic council! What would happen to my business! What would happen to me?' If it wasn't one excuse, it was another."

"Um, not to push you," Alucier said with every intention of pushing. He'd heard Dryden's summary of why Meiden and the Cesarian fell out. He didn't need to hear every last whiny detail. "But I think we should go over what you know about his relationship to Bennor. This whole thing centers around tampering with Egzardia's succession so let's center around the Egzardians ourselves."

Meiden had to think back. He was so used to men like him having connections in every corner of the world that he never questioned how those connections came to be. Coming out and asking was so tacky anyway. But the Cesarian had told him something about Bennor – nothing terribly memorable apparently.

As Meiden struggled to recall, his guests threw out suggestions.

"Did he do business with Bennor?" Dryden asked.

Eries shook her head. "Marqesita said Bennor's been at a military academy and only recently left. I wouldn't think he'd run a business from the barracks."

It was Alucier's turn. "Maybe they met at some diplomatic function. They would have had to let Bennor out of that academy for something like that."

Again, Eries disagreed. "Why would he go? Egzardia's modus operandi since their king fell ill was to pretend nothing's wrong. Pulling Bennor from the academy for the sole purpose of taking his father's place at a diplomatic function would be too conspicuous."

"But all three of his kids showed up for this summit," Dryden said. "That's not conspicuous?"

"Bennor had already graduated and come back to the palace. He's not being pulled from anything. And by having all three of them come to the summit, it gave the appearance that the king is fine. Why else would he have all of his likely successors out of the country at the same time? It was the best they could do without sending the king himself."

This was logical, assuming Bennor's acquaintance with the Cesarian was long standing and not a recent development. Dryden prodded Meiden into remembering at least that.

Meiden didn't answer straight away. The Cesarian had mentioned that he'd known Bennor for awhile, but that didn't make any sense for the reasons Eries had listed. How does a boy in Egzardian military academy become a potential conspirator with a middle-aged Cesarian politician?

He gave up figuring it out on his own. "He said he'd known him for a few years. He must never have told me how, because, frankly, I'm as baffled as you are."

"Oh, goodie," Alucier said. "Looks like I get to interview Bennor again."

"He definitely knows our Cesarian friend. I mentioned him in our first meeting and Bennor knew exactly who he was."

It would have been nice if Bennor had shared that tidbit in the first place. Though he was tempted on the basic principal of Bennor's personality, Alucier wouldn't hold it against him. Everything was moving so quickly. It was hard to tell what was relevant and what wasn't.

So he had no choice but to get all the information he could and sort it out later. He asked Meiden what he'd talked with Bennor about, getting every last whiny detail this time. Meiden was surprisingly cooperative. That was heartening even if the information Alucier was getting didn't suggest anything.

Even Dryden was pleasantly surprised. "See, Dad. Doesn't it feel great to play along with everybody?"

That was pushing it and Meiden let him know. "I'm cooperating in an investigation for the benefit of my country. It is not play nor does it feel 'great'."

Meiden finished relaying his information in the same spirit, dutifully and dully recounting his interactions with Bennor. There really was nothing to be found in them. The two had little in common save for Eries' dislike of them both. It was nice to hear a few of Bennor's plans for Egzardia, but barring a major reconciliation with Meiden and the mysterious Cesarian, nothing was going to come of them, rendering them quashed without anyone having to do anything. She'd share them with Marqesita just to be thorough.

"That's it?" Alucier asked once Meiden was through. He didn't hide his disappointment. He'd spent nearly in hour baking in Meiden's office-oven and had only gotten the need for another meeting with Bennor and the fact that a minister on Cesario's economic council was kind of shady and a lot whiney out of it.

"That is it," Meiden declared. "I know the three of you came here expecting all sorts of dealings with the devil, but I'm afraid you'll have to leave disappointed." A slight tilt of his head indicated who he thought had had the worst expectations of him.

It wasn't as if she hadn't any reason to form those expectations. The man had actually counted on her forming them for his plans to work, after all. Eries coughed and politely explained this to him.

He didn't bother denying it. He, instead, laughed at his own joke. "Really, Princess, you can't fault me for using every advantage offered to me, even if it's only to bluff. You didn't have to let your assumptions get the worst of you either."

So that's how it was going to be. Not only was he going crow about what would have been his successful strategy had Dryden not revealed it, he was going to lay the blame for it all at her feet. Technically, a good bit of it did belong there, but Eries had one last volley to fling before abiding by Dryden's request to appear civil to Meiden.

And – this was a technicality too – what she was about to say was clearing the air between them.

"No, Meiden, I don't blame you for bluffing. It would be quite hypocritical of me considering I've used bluffs of my own to get you to acquiesce to my wishes."

She knew he wouldn't ask what those bluffs had been. That would be weak, almost begging. She also knew that furrowed brow of his meant he was dying to know.

So she told him.

"Do you remember when I came to you asking to drop the treason charges against Allen? We made a bargain then. I would persuade Millerna to marry Dryden or argue against it based on whether those charges were dropped.

"There was one little fact that I omitted when giving you my terms. Millerna had already agreed to the marriage when we spoke. I was wholly supportive of her decision and wouldn't have dreamed of speaking a contrary word to her about it."

Meiden gaped at her. Alucier and Dryden did some gawking of their own – Alucier in anticipation that things were going to get nasty again and Dryden in relief that his sister-in-law wasn't as quite as manipulative as his father had made out.

Meiden, however, believed Eries was more conniving than ever. He didn't know how to say it without a Caeli and his son jumping down his throat though. "That's…" he began slowly, "that's interesting to hear, Princess. And if I hadn't dropped the charges?"

"Nothing," Eries admitted. "I wouldn't have done a thing to stop the marriage. I thought you might have known that considering my stance on the wedding, but you assumed the worst of me."

There were moments when people claimed you would have been able to hear a pin drop. In the moment between having his smug pride for his strategy thrown back at him and Meiden's reply, that might have been true. There weren't any pins in the room to be able to find out. There were several large crackles from the fireplace along with a nervous sigh from Dryden.

Meiden took the sigh to heart. He had nothing to gain by starting yet another argument with Eries. She'd won this one and rightly so if he were in a more charitable mood. There'd be other fights – many, many other fights. He'd take what he'd learned here today and put it to use then. For now… "Well played, Princess. I supposed this renders us even."

"If only," Dryden muttered.

He wasn't being sarcastic. Eries could hear the longing in it that made it a sincere wish. She'd gone too far in rubbing in the trick she'd pulled on Meiden. She'd known it before she said it too but had done it anyway. What was it about Meiden that made her so nasty?

She didn't like it at all. She didn't like the person it made her. She didn't like Meiden – anyone – having that kind of power over her. She need only remind herself of how easily Meiden had manipulated her to know how damaging that could be. She needed to honor her promise to Dryden sooner rather than later and not only for his sake or Millerna's.

Besides, she wasn't required to actually like Meiden – just get better at pretending she tolerated him.

"Nothing would please me more than to call us even and put a stop to all of these hostilities," Eries said in her best diplomat's voice. "Our families are merging. It would behoove us both to place Millerna and Dryden above our disagreements."

It wasn't the strongest of olive branches – more like an olive twig – but the peace Eries wished to achieve with it was real if not completely sincere.

Dryden seized on it immediately, urging his father to accept it. "Isn't that great, Dad? A truce, think of all the free time you'll have by not having to plot against Eries."

"Uh, huh," Meiden said, clearly not believing what he was hearing.

It wasn't what Dryden had hoped to hear. He gave a pitiful glance to Eries asking her to lay it on thicker.

_Too thick and he'll know I'm faking_, she thought. She quickly reconsidered. _He knows I'm faking anyway. Anything more in that vein and he's liable to lose an eye from rolling it too hard._

So Eries tried something new. She was completely honest with Meiden. "I don't like you. You don't like me. Our political goals seldom match and until they do, we'll always be rivals on the council regardless of the king that sits at its head. But I think we do need to show more respect to that king. My father will always be my father as he will always be your friend. Dryden will always be your son as he, Jichia willing, will be my brother."

"So you want us all to be friends?" Meiden asked incredulously.

"I want us all to be less bitter enemies. We're both politicians. We know how to put on a big smile to let everyone know how wonderful things are."

"So you want us all to pretend to be friends and save the cursing and the vitriol for behind each other's backs?"

That didn't sound quite right, but it was as good as could be hoped for. Dryden entertained the notion that if they could pull this off, maybe they could move towards a larger, more meaningful reconciliation but even at his selling-the-fleet-to-save-a-stranger's-life best, he wasn't that much of an idealist.

Alucier doubted this truce would go much further too. He'd take it though if it would spare him from having to sit through any future hostile exchanges. He'd still be in for listening to Eries complain about Meiden in private but the public reprieve would be nice. Allen wasn't the only knight who had trouble resisting the temptation to protect Eries even when he knew it was her business to handle on her own.

Meiden considered the proposal with the occasional chuckle to himself. He enjoyed his fights with Eries in a way and not simply because of the benefit he'd planned to reap. Truly worthy foes were rare for a man of his skill. While he'd ultimately rank Eries a rung lower on the skill ladder, she did keep him competitive.

He would have to accept the loss of a good opponent. Dryden was bristling at their constant fighting. The more sensitive Millerna would grow to loathe it. Odds were she'd side with her sister in assigning blame for it. Meiden truly wanted to be in his daughter-in-law's good graces. He didn't want to give her any reason to abdicate the title first and foremost which also led to his second reason: an unhappy Millerna would result in an unhappy Dryden. That wouldn't do.

"All right, Princess," Meiden said. "We'll try it your way. Nothing but smiles and sunshine on the surface."

"It would be nice if a little of that could make it below the surface," Dryden added. Blank stares prodded him to make another amendment. "But we've already had our miracle for the day for let's set that one on the back burner."

"So what now? We shake hands and lie about how pleasant it was to see each other?" Meiden asked.

In the name of a decent start to the truce, Alucier intervened before Eries could say anything. "Let's just say it was a productive meeting and thank each other for the input."

This was amenable to both parties. They repeated Alucier's suggested statement virtually verbatim with all the enthusiasm of a child opening birthday presents that he knows are all clothes.

With much more spirit, Dryden closed out the meeting. "Excellent. Dad, if we need you or if you remember anything at all about Bennor and his Cesarian friend, we'll be in touch. I think this went really well, don't all of you?"

Eries and Meiden nodded, nothing but forced, almost grins and a glimmer of hellfire from the fireplace between them.

0-0-0-0-0

Back in their guest quarters at the palace, three Egzardian siblings made tentative steps toward their own reconciliation. Unlike the agreement between Meiden and Eries, these three were striving for something meaningful and deep. Sadly, they were also unlike Meiden and Eries in that one of them was refusing to voice any of his secrets.

Tellot did feel really bad about it though and he was feeling increasingly worse as Bennor and Marqesita pieced together what they knew. For once in his life, he knew something his brother and sister didn't and all he could do is play dumb lest he come out looking evil. Tellot would never forget how disgusted Marqesita had been when she'd thought Bennor had had something to do with the attack. She'd be thoroughly repulsed if the truth came out.

Bennor might understand. He'd sought out Meiden Fassa for a possible alliance. He knew sometimes you had to deal with the devil to achieve the greater good. Of course, Bennor hadn't made any deals, merely listened to the sales pitch, but he could get the gist.

Couldn't he?

It didn't appear so. He was writing up a list of all of his contacts, friendly and otherwise, and making very descriptive commentary for every name he put down.

Occasionally, Bennor would ask Marqesita and Tellot for their input on a particular name, Marqesita receiving most of the questions. Tellot shrugged and mumbled whenever he was asked. Neither of his siblings thought his responses were out of the ordinary.

"What about e' Del-Iyl?" Bennor asked. "He was always opposing Father."

There was more mumbling and shrugging from Tellot while Marqesita sighed. "Opposed him on foolish things like that idiot bridge to nowhere in his province. No one else in Parliament cares for him, much less want to partner with him and he's not clever enough to go it on his own."

Bennor threw out more names and his sister countered every one with an explanation of the member's politics and his or her relationship with other Parliament members. She didn't even give it much thought. It was name followed by details, like a student reciting well-memorized multiplication tables.

"You really know a lot about Parliament," Bennor concluded.

"I try to keep up. You know how Father's memory was slipping. He needed someone to keep him informed."

"And I was still at the Academy."

Tellot didn't offer an excuse why it hadn't been him. They all knew why.

"I didn't trust anyone in Parliament to do it. There are a few in there that I believe would have handled it honorably but if suddenly they had started being seen hanging around the king a lot for no reason, the dishonorable ones would have smelled the blood in the water. I could spend all the time I wanted with Father without raising suspicions."

"And you got to spend time with him," Tellot added. He expected the sentimental outburst to be greeted by scornful frowns. That's how it usually went.

But this time, his brother and sister agreed with him.

"Yeah…" Marqesita murmured. "At first I thought he would get better and it was no big deal. Now that he's gone though, I wouldn't trade the time I spent with him for anything."

Bennor wasn't as emotional – he never was – but he had his own tribute to pay. "I only wish that I could have gotten more of my education from him than the Academy. He was certainly more knowledgeable than my teachers there. I still don't know why he was so insistent that I go."

"Because he believed the crown needed a strong liaison to the military," Marqesita answered. "Keeps the military more loyal if they think they've got one of their own in the decision making. I'm not saying he thought they were going to mutiny or anything but we know how Parliament is with power grabs. They're likely to be less grabby when the men with the weapons aren't on their side." She reconsidered, taking the framing of Bennor into account. "Well, at least they should be less grabby."

"I was about to say how wonderfully my military ties worked for me," Bennor laughed bitterly. He smiled next, sincerely and smugly. "So you think that means Father wanted for me to succeed him?"

"You need to listen more carefully. I said Father wanted the crown to _have_ a strong liaison, not _be_ a strong liaison."

"So now you're going to tell me that Father told you he wanted for you to be his successor."

"Since you asked, Bennor..." But Marqesita wouldn't lie, not about her father's wishes. "No, he never said who he wanted to succeed him. I could tell he had plans for all of us, but part of those plans were to let us figure it all out for ourselves."

"Right, one last lesson for his children – sometimes you have to figure it out for yourselves."

"Pity he didn't see this mess coming," Marqesita said. "Because we're certainly learning it trying to figure out what Parliament's up to."

"Wouldn't work. If Father had foreseen this mess and then gone ahead and named an heir because he didn't think we'd need this lesson, then there wouldn't have been a mess to foresee. But then he would have still been in an educating mood thus creating the mess again and thus negating it as well in a never ending cycle of circular logic."

Tellot didn't follow any of that. He knew better than to ask. Bennor's explanations tended to leave him more confused than if he tried to work it out for himself. He tried thinking it out slowly.

_Dad thinks we need to learn a lesson. Dad foresees us learning the lesson by doing something else, so Dad doesn't give the lesson. But if he doesn't try to give us the lesson then we don't do the something else, so we'll still need the lesson. But if we still need the lesson then he wouldn't have cancelled it in the first place. Meaning…okay, I got it!_

That was one thing to feel proud of but Tellot wasn't feeling very self-congratulatory. Whatever lesson his father was trying to teach him, Tellot had a feeling he, more than his siblings, wasn't getting it. They were working together to get at the truth despite being rivals. He knew what the truth was and was sitting on it because they were rivals.

Some king he'd make, betraying his own family. Sure he'd give them both positions in his government, but none of those was as good as the crown. None of them had the power. None of them had as much responsibility to do what was right.

"I think I'm going to go for a walk by myself," Tellot announced.

Neither Bennor nor Marqesita thought this was a good idea.

Marqesita chided him out of concern for his well-being. "I hope you meant 'with a well-armed guard' when you said 'by myself'."

Bennor's concern lay in the perception that Tellot was shirking his duties. "We're in the middle of trying to figure out who put that knife in you and you want to go out for a stroll? Aren't you concerned about bringing the people who attacked you to justice?"

How easily he could answer both their questions. He knew he was safe because he knew there were no more plans to have him attacked. He didn't need to figure out anything because he knew who planned the attack too.

But easily in theory was not easily in practice. Tellot stumbled over a cheap excuse to leave. "It's not like you guys need me here and I could use the air. The palace is real safe too. I'm not going to be wandering around Palas again."

Bennor gave up in disgust. Marqesita made one more attempt to convince him to have a guard go with him, but Tellot assured her that in a palace crawling with guards, he didn't need to have one by his side to have one protecting him.

While this assuaged Marqesita's protests, the idea of guards everywhere worried Tellot. He needed to avoid them at all costs. He didn't want anyone knowing where he was going.

Because he was going to meet the Cesarian – hopefully for the last time.

0-0-0-0-0

When Eries returned to the palace, Allen was waiting for her in the hall outside her quarters. There was a brief changing of the guard between him and Alucier consisting of Alucier saying 'she's all yours' in lieu of the standard salutes and reports the Caeli charter proscribed. Few Caeli ever went through the whole procedure without their commander present. If Alucier became commander, he'd eliminate it entirely.

_When I become commander_, Alucier silently reminded himself. The possible promotion still dangled before him like a carrot. He only feared the carrot was starting to dangle closer to Fortanen. He hardly needed the motivation to get going, but with that thought in mind, he set out to speak to Bennor with a bit more haste.

Allen couldn't sense any lingering anger on Eries as was usual after a go-around with Meiden so he assumed the meeting had gone well. He'd let her tell her about though in case he was wrong. Besides, he had a message to give her.

"Your father wishes to speak with you." He held out the note he'd been given.

Eries read over it and was left more curious for the effort. "The note just says the same thing. No one gave you any hint what he wanted?"

"No, I was summoned to his quarters, he personally gave me the note and told me to wait for you until you returned. He seemed pleased when I told him that you and Dryden were talking to Meiden."

"Father seemed pleased in your presence?" she teased.

"It was quite odd. He didn't frown at me or accuse me of treason or anything."

"Such a strange day," Eries sighed. "First Meiden agrees to treat me like a human being in public and now Father treats you as one in private."

That was the opening he'd been waiting for. He asked her for the details of the meeting and she recounted it for him as they walked to the king's quarters. The guard at the door motioned for them to go right in when they arrived.

Eries was greeted by what had become an unusual sight. Aston was standing alone in the middle of the room, his wheelchair pushed in the corner, his cane propped unused against the bed.

She gasped when she saw him, in both elation at this show of health and worry that he was doing it without any medical supervision. His strength could leave him suddenly; somebody should be with him whenever he tried stunts like this in case the worse should happen.

Eries couldn't bring herself to lecture him though. "I'm impressed, Father. I had no idea you'd progressed so much."

Aston dismissed the praise. "Standing shouldn't be considered an achievement for a king. That's why I try to do this when I'm alone, so I don't have the doctors fawning over me like a dog that's learned a new trick."

"Oh, please. You deserve it. Your recovery didn't magically happen. You had to work for it."

If Eries was hellbent on complimenting him, he'd have to take it. "Well, work is over for today. Schezar, fetch the chair for me."

Allen did as told, though he doubted Aston's use of the word 'fetch' as a command was unintentional after speaking of dogs and tricks.

He slid the chair in behind Aston who watched as if Allen were liable to plow the chair right into him. Once he determined Allen possessed the capability to push a wheelchair without loosing control, Aston sat down as gracefully as his health would allow. It didn't allow much.

"Ugh, you think they could make these things more comfortable," he complained. "And this is a chair for a king. I can't imagine how awful the regular ones are."

"I'm sure if you say something to Millerna, she'll be able to procure a more comfort-"

"Oh, don't worry about it, Eries. I was just venting."

He had a few more complaints to give. Eries listened as a good daughter would. As a good guard, Allen migrated over towards the door to give the two privacy.

"Father," Eries said after Aston he run out of steam, "I'm sure you didn't call me here only so you could air your grievances with the wheelchair."

"It is an annoyance worthy of an audience, but you're right. I initially wanted to speak with you about your birthday next week then Schezar told me you were at Meiden's actually trying to work with him on something. The birthday can wait. I want to know what happened at the Fassa estate."

She was happy to tell him all about the meeting, especially the pseudo-truce. As Meiden's longtime friend, he'd be almost, if not more, happy as Dryden to know they had agreed to pretend to get along.

He did praise Eries for the effort. "I know it'll be hard to bite your tongue, but in the end it'll be worth it. These fights you've had with Meiden have cost you while giving you no benefit in return. I have to give Meiden credit though. Deliberately provoking you with a fake conspiracy was a good move."

Eries was too close to appreciate either the maneuver or her father's soft chuckling over it. "Be that as it may," she said stiffly, "we pledged to keep our moves at a minimum. I have to wonder how long that will last."

"Doubting him already?"

"I never promised to stop doubting Meiden, only calling him on it in public."

Aston chuckled again. Change never happened over night. The illusion of change would have to do for now. "There are better ways of opposing a man, Eries. I'll have to teach you some of the methods I used with Meiden over the years."

"You and Meiden disagreed a lot? I always thought the two of you thought alike."

"Exactly! You thought what I wanted you and everyone else to think. Oh, the lessons I could give you on how to make the truce of yours appear really convincing."

She'd love to learn, mostly to see if she could find out about the disagreements between her father and Meiden. She figured her placement on the council was a big one. She drew a blank after that. On most all other issues, the two men had been in lockstep.

Or rather, they had appeared to be. For her father to craft such an illusion was a notable achievement, the kind of achievement she'd like to repeat.

Aston, however, was not in the teaching mood tonight. He was satisfied with the progress Eries had already made and would let her work it out on her own a little further. If necessary, he'd dole out a few tips. Until then, he thought it enough for Eries to know she wasn't the only one who'd clashed with Meiden. She'd just been the one to make those clashes loud and unproductive.

"If that's what you wish," Eries said after he'd turned her request for instruction down. "Is there anything else? You said something about my birthday…"

"In a few days, isn't it? I haven't heard any gossip around the palace about any sort of celebration. Surely you won't let the day go by unmarked."

Nothing would please Eries more. Ever since she could remember, the galas that were held on her birthday served all sorts of political purposes but had very little to do with celebrating her birth. With this year's birthday falling right in the middle of the summit, that would be the case again, assuming such a party was going to be held.

Eries wasn't going to make that assumption. "I wasn't planning on anything, Father. We've already held one ball for our guests. Don't you think another would be overdoing it?"

"Of course it would. But we're Asturians, that's what we do."

Eries rolled her eyes. She'd enjoyed the first ball thoroughly but that didn't mean she was up for a second. There would be advantages to holding the event though. As the guest of honor, all eyes would be on her.

If Meiden were still her co-chair at the summit, she'd be tempted to steal the attention. She wasn't so ready to take it from Dryden. She mentioned this gauche side-effect of throwing her own party to Aston.

"You wouldn't host it yourself, Eries! That would be tacky. But if Dryden hosted it instead on her sister-in-law's behalf…"

Now she understood. Aston was trying to move things other than political along. If Dryden was to host on her sister-in-law's behalf, he would have to do so with Eries' sister beside him. "I don't think you need make such a blatant effort to put Dryden and Millerna together," she said bluntly. "They've moving towards each other on their own, slower than you might like but that progress has more meaning."

"Yes, yes. I know." Aston paused, unsure of how much to confide in Eries, especially with Allen so nearby. He did not like appearing weak before anyone, let alone Schezar. But he needed to tell Eries this and sending Allen out was foolish. Kings do not hide.

"There's more to it than that," he began. "It isn't so much about Dryden and Millerna being seen together as it is about you and Dryden."

"Me and Dryden?" Her father's motives weren't so predictable after all.

"Yes, Eries, the two of you. You see, he's going to be the next king and all kings need a right hand. For years, Meiden has served as mine."

She was beginning to see. "But you don't want Meiden to continue in that role. You want me to assume it."

"Why not? You've served on the council. You're certainly capable. And, as you are unmarried, you don't have any other obligations to occupy you."

There it was. The first clue she'd ever gotten that there was an ulterior motive for her father allowing her to remain unwed. She'd believed him when he'd claimed he'd never found anyone suitable for her, but at the same time she'd sensed there was a reason why he'd hadn't looked terribly hard.

"Was this your plan all along?" she asked quietly. "Let succession go to Millerna so I could remain a force on the council?"

"I…" Aston glanced to Allen, who had cast his face downward to indicate he was not listening. Aston didn't believe for a second that the knight wasn't taking in every last word, but he'd have to trust that he would never repeat them.

"It wasn't always my plan, at least not a serious one," Aston admitted. "When Therese died, I knew I would never remarry. I also knew with three daughters, I would be the last Aston to sit on the throne. It wasn't something I cared to think about. I wasn't that old; my rule would continue for some time. So I put it out of my mind.

"But then you announced that you would like to sit in on council sessions." Aston chuckled at the memory of Eries' temerity. "I agreed to it because I thought you'd quickly grow tired of the council's workings and quit on your own. But you didn't. You actually grew more interested, learned how it worked, how to make it work for you.

"You were still so young then. With Marlene's marriage to Mahad fresh on my mind, I wasn't in any hurry to see you married off and there was little demand from the people and politicians for the same. I thought I'd let you go on for a few more years. At the worst, when it did come time for you to marry, you'd have the political savvy to hold a strong influence over your husband."

"You really were grooming me for succession," All the rumors, the accusations from Meiden, her own wondering suspicions had been proven right. Eries wasn't sure how she felt. She'd wanted her position, fought for it and felt vindicated when her father had expressed pride for what she'd accomplished. But to know he'd been planning it all along…

"Not a traditional succession, of course," Aston continued. "And the more I got used to the idea a problem presented itself that would not go away. You would have to marry an Asturian. There weren't many suitable candidates. There weren't any really. Dryden did occur to me, but from the stories Meiden told of him, I could never see the two of you together. And I knew Meiden would fight having his son serving as a puppet king."

Eries gave a weary sigh at her father's understatement and Aston laughed. "That was rather stating the obvious, wasn't it? He'd have fought such an arrangement tooth and nail. So I had to make another arrangement he would find more palpable without him ever thinking there was an arrangement in place."

"Father…!"

"Don't be so shocked. Meiden and I are old friends, true, but there is more at stake here than more politics. We're speaking of the direction all of Asturia will take and I wanted to ensure an Aston would be there to guide it."

"So what did you do?"

"Nothing," Aston laughed again. "At least nothing in terms of potential suitors. Oh, I courted a few from foreign countries that I knew you and everyone else would find unsuitable. You didn't think I'd seriously match you up with Tellot e' Egzard, did you?"

Eries had always wondered how Tellot had gotten through the matchmaking process far enough to warrant actually having to spend a dinner with him. Aston had set him up for failure and everyone, Eries included, had gone along with it.

She couldn't be too resentful since the brunt of Tellot's rude behavior that evening had been defused by having Alucier and his comments at her side. Still, she didn't like that she'd wasted so much time worrying about her father marrying her off when that had been his last intention. "So you let me think I was going to be married off any second just so no one would have any suspicions at your real plans."

"Mostly so Meiden wouldn't have any suspicions. To make him thoroughly convinced that I wasn't planning to have succession go to you by proxy, I did do some vocal complaining about your association with Schezar."

At his post at the door, Allen glanced up briefly at hearing his name. He was able to get his head back down again before Aston looked over at him. Nonetheless, the king knew Allen had heard.

"Yes, Schezar, you did serve a purpose for me, unintentional as it might have been. Unfortunately, you also went against my purposes when Millerna developed her little crush."

"I apologize, Your Majesty," Allen said humbly. "That had not been my intention either."

Eries expected her father to grunt in disbelief. He only coughed and said, "That's what Eries has been saying. Oh, well. All's well that ends well, I suppose."

There was no grunting from Allen, but disbelief showed in the widening of his eyes. Eries had been caught off guard too. Had her father actually listened to her defenses of Allen and found them to be true?

Aston wasn't going to let her get carried away in speculation. Indifference was the best he could muster towards Allen and he planned on carrying forth with that attitude by ignoring him again and returning to his story. "So it looked to everyone that you simply wouldn't marry. Meiden thought you had personal reasons. Everyone else just chalked it up to you being the 'Ice Princess'. Much as I loathe that nickname for you, it had its use."

"I didn't know you were aware of it."

"I'm aware of everything that goes on in this palace. That's what kings – the good ones – do. Petty gossip can contain kernels of truth in them. Even the gossip that's utterly devoid of fact can give you an idea of the mood of the palace. I do miss being kept out of that loop by having to spend all my time here or the hospital ward. I'd love to hear what the staff has to say about my health."

There was another surprise: Grava Aston, gossip monger. It made sense, what he'd said, and Eries decided to listen in a little closer the next time she spotted a clutch of handmaidens deep into the trading of rumors. She pledged to her father to share what she'd learn.

Aston smiled. "Millerna's not very good at that. She's worried about too much work giving me too much stress so she tries to shield me from any talk of politics. She's a good doctor, but would make a lousy politician."

"And I'm the opposite."

"Oh, I suppose you could master the technical aspects of medicine," Aston mused, "but when it came time for you to operate on a patient, you'd be fleeing the room at the first sight of blood."

Eries hmphed at her father and he stopped teasing. "But I don't need for you to be a doctor. Your political skills are what will serve me and Asturia."

"So Meiden was right. I hadn't planned on undermining Dryden's authority but you would like me too."

"Not undermine…_influence. _We've been over this. You're making it sound too sinister. Dryden doesn't care for politics, after all, so he'll need someone like you there to support him."

"Instead of someone like his father?"

Aston could only shrug. "When Dryden becomes king, Meiden and I will be part of Asturia's past, quite literally on my part. When I'm gone, I have to trust that my children will carry on for me, Millerna as queen and you as the head of the council. Between the two of you, I think Asturia will remain under the guidance of the Aston family."

Eries didn't know what to say. She'd never seriously believed she would ever be able to wield the power her father was ready to hand to her though she'd dreamed about it. She'd never believed her father would put this much faith in though she'd wished for it either. It was almost too much.

But he had one more revelation to make. "I shouldn't have removed you from the council before. I acted out of fear of Zaibach and took a valuable test away from you."

"That's why you so readily reinstated me. And why you've been having me go it alone with Meiden on the summit."

"Consider it your make-up test. Nothing is as trying to a ruler as war, but having to outmaneuver Meiden is a close second."

He was pleased with his plan and how far it had progressed, Eries could tell. She didn't know how she felt. The chance to rule, albeit from behind the scenes, was enticing. And if the ruler she'd be manipulating were any other man than Dryden, she would consider it. But it was Dryden. He'd never behaved with anything but honor and integrity towards her family. It wasn't worth acting with any less respect towards him just to keep Astons ruling the country in spirit.

"Father, I understand what you're trying to do, but don't you trust Dryden to be able to rule? Surely you didn't select him because you thought he'd be easily influenced?"

"No, I selected him because he's a good match for Millerna. When those two came back from her trip to Freid, I could see how much he cared for her. He'll never do a thing to harm her and that's important to me."

"And…?" Eries goaded.

_She wouldn't be Eries if she didn't keep prying_, Aston thought. "And, as I said, he has little patience for politics. Which is not necessarily a detriment for a king if he has a sister-in-law with a passion for them. See how neatly everything works out? One daughter gets the best husband for her and the other gets the best political ally for her."

"I'm sure Dryden would be flattered to hear you call him the best."

"Oh, Eries, there's no need to be so snide. I might point out to you that you've already tried to ally yourself with him in an arrangement in which you would wield more power. How is ruling Asturia very different than trying to influence the summit?"

"It's…" It wasn't all that different except for the part where she was trying to influence the entire world instead of one country. She changed the subject. "I don't remember telling you that much about my alliances."

But Aston wouldn't have it. "You didn't answer my question."

Her stubborn streak must have come from her father and she doubted whether she could outlast the original. "I concede there are some similarities, but Dryden wasn't even in Asturia when this started. I had no idea when he would be coming back. If he'd been my second at the summit at the start then I wouldn't have had to do anything to counter Meiden."

"Your second?"

Eries hadn't realized she'd phrased it that way. It was technically correct anyway. She was serving as the king's proxy. Dryden was serving as prince regent. However slight, there was a difference in rank.

"Oh, I see," Aston said after hearing her explanation. "But once the ranks change, you'll fall dutifully in line and want no say in how our country's run. I imagine you'll be lining up suitors too so you can become a good little wife."

"Now who's being snide? I never said I wanted to abandon my council position. I just don't want to use it to try to usurp Dryden. I am not Meiden Fassa."

"The way you talk, Eries, it's as if Meiden was the devil incarnate. Isn't going to be hard to keep peace with the man you think is the embodiment of evil?"

"I don't think that!" she protested though she could easily see why her father had drawn that conclusion. She took a deep breath as she prepared herself to explain why she spoke about Meiden as she did. She knew this would take more tact than simply listing the man's vices. "I realize that I only deal with Meiden on a political level. Unfortunately, that level tends to bring out the worst in all who dwell on it."

"Yourself included?"

"Myself included," Eries agreed. "You know Meiden holds no high opinion of me. While I believe most of it stems from his paranoia of the power I might wield as his opponent – paranoia that seems to be justified after hearing of your long terms plans for me – some of it might perchance come from less than ideal behavior from me."

"Oh, gods, you've defended Meiden," Aston said with a hearty laugh. Eries' frown did nothing to deter further chuckling. "No, no, it's not a bad thing. You should consider all sides when making judgments. I honestly believe this is the first time I've heard you do that in regards to Meiden. Don't make it your last."

"Honestly, Father, you're giving me a headache. You wish for me to undermine Meiden even as you encourage me to treat him more fairly?"

Aston nodded. "And why do you think that is? If you need a hint, remember what I said about all the times I opposed Meiden."

She didn't have to think too deeply. It was obvious that a person would be more persuaded to listen to a friend than an enemy. Meiden and her father had been friends extending all the way back into boyhood. That kind of friend would always have the ear of the other.

"I understand," Eries said. "I can get more done working with Meiden than against him. But we're so opposed to each other's stances, I can't imagine what we would agree to work together on. And I doubt a few nice words from me can smooth over the disagreements we've had so that he'd be willing to make more concessions than I would give."

"I think it would take a very large bribe for that to happen," Aston admitted. "But you don't have to get him to agree with you on everything. You only have to make him less disagreeable. Once Dryden is in place as king, he'll pick who to have as _his _second. Do you think you'll have a better chance as his loving sister-in-law who made every attempt to keep his family happy or as that woman who's always giving his father a hard time? You've already taken the first step. I'm telling you to be sure to keep walking."

"But-"

"But what, Eries? If Dryden chooses you as his second, it will be because he wants your influence."

"Perhaps not as much as you would like me to give him."

"And perhaps he will. You don't know. Bah, I think I never should have told you any of this and just let it all unfold naturally. I know you. You would have taken the power when it was offered freely."

Eries wished she could say that was absurd but she knew it wasn't. She would only concede to Aston that maybe he was correct and ask him one last question. "Why did you decide to tell me all this?"

At this, Aston suddenly grew tired of speaking. He offered Eries a meek explanation of he thought she might like to know and asked to call it a night.

"But, Father," Eries persisted, "I'm beginning to understand how much thought and care you put into your actions. Do you expect me to believe this action was spontaneous and carefree?"

Trapped, Aston gave a second, more deliberate, explanation. "I expect that you will mull over what I have said not only tonight but for many nights to come. You'll realize that not only am I correct, but I'm not acting as selfishly as you think. And with that new knowledge, you're going to become very careful about your own actions. You won't do anything that might jeopardize your standing in the eyes of the people or your fellow councilmen. They're used to the stoic, aloof princess who serves her country…_alone_."

She had no doubt as to what he meant. She had every doubt she could fulfill the demand he had implied. "You always said that you wanted happiness for your daughters. Yet you now say you want me to forgo that happiness for the sake of a proxy throne? Jichia willing, you'll be on the throne for many years to come. Am I to wait stoic, aloof and alone the entire time?"

Though the king in him thought the question foolish, the father in him could give no other answer than, "No, Eries. That wouldn't be fair. But you can find happiness-" he was about to say elsewhere but Schezar was already staring at the ground so intently, even the slightest hint that the king knew what was going on would give the boy an aneurysm. "You can find it almost anywhere if you chose to look," Aston concluded.

"And how much looking did you do after Mother's death?"

She had him there. "None," he said softly. "I couldn't bear to look at another woman after having seen the perfect visage of your mother. Once she was gone, it was if I had been blinded."

_After all these years_, Eries thought, _he still loves her_. And though her father had lost his love, it would not stop Eries from embracing that wealth of emotion when it was given to her. As enticing as the possibility of power was, she would not deny the certainty of her feelings for Allen.

She didn't believe she would have to. Her father's plans liberated her in a way. There was no more threat of a forced political marriage. If she did marry, it would have to be to an Asturian of nobility who had no desire to do anything with it on his own. Allen fit that description. The Schezars were an old family. Tarnished reputation or not, they were still nobility.

Eries wouldn't mention it to her father. It had been a long, taxing talk. He needed to sleep. She needed to think.

They said their goodnights and Aston could tell from the small smile on his daughter's lip and how it widened once she'd reached the door and her bodyguard what Eries was thinking. He'd been forced to consider the very same thoughts after his sources – Meiden had hardly been the first man to discover an alternate use for handmaidens – told him what was going on.

He had the power to stop it. One word from him and Schezar and his loopy sister would be looking for a new country to live in. Eries would never forgive him. He couldn't count on Millerna backing him either. So he had spoken freely with the hope of dangling a more desirable future than a blond knight of dubious stature in front of her. But damn if she wasn't trying to figure out a way to merge both of those futures together. Eries was resourceful like that.

Aston considered it both a flaw and a source of deep pride.

0-0-0-0

The Cesarian hated having to speak Tellot face to face. He much preferred their exchange of notes via the hiding place in the niche. It was much less conspicuous for one. Another point in its favor was that the Cesarian didn't have to speak with or otherwise deal with Tellot then.

He had no choice but to deal with him now. The big lummox had actually knocked at his door. It was getting late into the night when guard patrols and general traffic about the palace was thinned, but that did nothing to assuage the Cesarian's anger that Tellot had approached him so directly. What possible excuse could he give should someone see them?

The only option was to ensure that that would not happen. The Cesarian rushed Tellot through his foolish concerns, hoping to be rid of him sooner rather than later.

But Tellot had too many concerns and he wouldn't keep quiet about them. "Sita and Bennor aren't suspicious but how long will it be until they are? There's only so many people in Parliament for them to investigate and Sita keeps whittling down the list!"

"Your Parliament has forty members," the Cesarian stated with a yawn of boredom. "It will take them time they do not have to investigate but half that number. When they do finally finish, you will have been installed as king months ago."

"Not if they challenge me! They can drag this out forever!"

That was the thorn in the plan. Of the three oldest siblings, only Bennor was unchallengeable. That was why he'd been framed rather than Marqesita. She would have been taken care of the old fashioned way: blackmail. But with Bennor and his spotless history back in play, more steps had to be taken to secure Tellot's succession to the throne.

The Cesarian had figured this the moment he'd read Tellot's note warning of the change in suspects. He was surprised Tellot had figured it out on his own. He had not yet solidified his plans to handle this outstanding issue, but he saw no purpose in making Tellot aware of this. Every indication was that Tellot's ignorance would be the Cesarian's bliss.

"Their challenge would be based on easily dismissed hearsay. No one can prove you are not the king's son. Why would anyone believe your brother and sister when they have every reason to lie?"

Tellot grew frustrated. The Cesarian just didn't understand what people were like in Egzardia. "They wouldn't lie, no under an oath. I can't lie either!"

"You seem to be doing an able job of it now," the Cesarian sneered.

Tellot recoiled, the accusation laying him bare. "I don't like it," he whimpered. "Sita and Bennor are being so nice to me, nicer than I can ever remember and I'm stabbing them in the back."

This was more sickening to the Cesarian than the Basramian's constant whining. Did these men truly expect to receive the power he was offering them without making any sacrifices? He'd been wary of Meiden Fassa and betrayed him out of a suspicion that if he had waited, Meiden would have done the same to him. He was wishing now that he'd extended that partnership a little longer. At least Fassa didn't constantly piss and moan at every tiny moral crisis.

He couldn't even yell at Tellot. The oaf's resolve was wavering. If it fell entirely, Tellot would blab everything he knew to anyone with ears.

"They're only being kind out of pity, Tellot," he said. All traces of cynicism had vanished underneath layers of tenderness as dulcet as they were false. "They see you as their big, stupid brother who needs to be coddled. They don't see the potential in you that I do. I know it's hard for you to lie, but you've been given such a rotten situation. You were always a good son to your father. You can't be blamed for your mother's mistake. But that's what they want to do. Not only would they be denying you your chance to carry on your father's legacy, but they'd be taking your father away from you. That's not what you want and it's not what he wanted either."

In his guilt from betraying his siblings, Tellot had failed to tell the truth one more time. He had never said a word to his co-conspirators about his father's death. But the Cesarian had used the past tense in reference to his father. No one outside the royal family and the higher ranking members of Parliament knew about it.

It was a good catch by Tellot but his cleverness in that bowed to his recklessness. "Why are you speaking like my father's dead? The only word from Egzardia is that he's still ill."

"I'm sorry," the Cesarian quickly covered, "all this talk of succession has got me thinking ahead of myself. I meant no disrespect to your father."

"Yeah, sure…"

Tellot didn't believe him and the Cesarian knew it. But when it came down to it, he didn't need Tellot to believe him. Once on the throne, Tellot would be a good puppet to the lords in the parliament, the Cesarian's true allies. Those men would be loyal to him. After all, he would deliver onto them not only a weak king but also a newer, leaner Parliament bereft of political rivals.

Well, technically, Marqesita and her allies would be delivering the latter once they 'solved' the mystery of Tellot's attack, but the credit for setting those wheels in motion was all his.

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Next Up: Everybody's making plans for Eries' birthday! Too bad our Cesarian friend won't be following the gift registry.


	30. In A Little While

Intrigues of a Princess

XXVII: In A Little While

Although she had yet to decide to follow all of her father's plans, Eries had gone ahead and suggested to Dryden that he host the ball that was to celebrate her birthday. The ball was going to happen somehow anyway. Royalty in Asturia simply couldn't mark the date of their birth without a large group of people dressing up and congregating on a dance floor ringed by tables overloaded with food and drink. Jichia himself might appear in the palace and fill it with appetizers and wandering minstrels should the lowly humans decide to let the day go by as a regular day.

Or something like that. Eries had never heard a good excuse as to why these balls must always be held, but held they were and not even the king seemed to be able to change it. With Dryden hosting this particular ball though, Eries could at least count on it being a smaller, more restrained affair.

This was assuming Dryden was only kidding about importing giant yaks from Basram to carry her across the courtyard as she made her entrance.

He assured her he was, adding that the smell of the beasts was most unbefitting a princess. "I've got a better idea," he said. "We'll build a giant platform with a golden throne atop and grips on the side so the palace guard can carry you in. And when they set you down, we can rig it so fireworks will go off with every step you take off the platform."

Eries had nothing to add to that but a baleful glare. Millerna, however, had a suggestion. "You should get some small children to throw flower petals at her feet."

"And a choir that travels behind her singing anthems to her glory."

Since the first baleful glare wasn't appreciated, Eries segued into eye rolling. This went unnoticed too as Millerna pondered if flower petals were sufficient to shield Eries' dainty princess feet from the common ground. They might have to get some commoners to lie down on their stomachs so that Eries could tread upon their backs.

"Wouldn't it be better to use nobility?" Revius asked. "I mean, a commoner's back? Eww."

While the trio of party planners debated the merits of nobility versus commoners as carpet runners, Eries unceremoniously got up from the table in the Royal Library and went to lose herself among the shelves. It was so much easier to endure teasing when you couldn't hear it.

Bouts of laughter still came from the table as it seemed they were more interested in embarrassing Eries than celebrating her birthday. She didn't mind. Millerna and Dryden had never acted more relaxed around each other. She didn't even mind having to do without Allen for the day because if Revius was good at anything, it was keeping a mood light.

Allen had taken a rare day off with the excuse of checking in on Celena and how well she was settling into being back at home. This somehow involved Gaddes bringing Celena into the city. Allen hadn't told her this – she'd overheard him mentioning his plans to Revius when he'd gotten his fellow Caeli to cover for him - which led her to believe the focus of Allen's day wasn't his sister at all. She was.

From all the coy talk they'd had when stuck in that closet together, she knew he'd want to get her something special for her birthday. She knew he hadn't gotten anything yet either. It wouldn't be logistically possible with him reporting to the palace before the shops opened and leaving after they'd closed. And he would not entrust this task to somebody else.

The speculation on what gift he might chose made her giddier than it should have. She wasn't focusing at all on the books she picked out. She'd open a page, read a few words without registering them, put the book back and then move to the next.

Would he go with jewelry? He'd done it before and it was what they had most discussed. The obviousness of it seemed to rule it out. What was left then? He'd given her books before too. Then there was the year he'd given her a perfume with a subtle scent that reminded her of a wildflower patch.

She reached the end of a shelf without realizing it. _I've turned into a complete idiot, _she concluded. Even as a child, she'd never been gripped with such anticipation when her father had presented her gifts and those had been worth more than most Asturians earned all year. As an adult, she'd looked forward to Allen's yearly gifts, treasured them, but she'd never felt the need to jump out of her own skin waiting for them.

She should go back to the table. It would be a welcome distraction and honestly, she deserved some teasing right now.

Or maybe she didn't. The first thing she heard upon her return was Millerna questioning how they could fit an ice sculpture of Eries that big into the ballroom.

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Eries knew Allen well. He had gone shopping with Celena in town for a gift. She also thought like him. As she wondering what he could possibly get her, Allen was asking himself the very same thing.

Celena was not the help he had hoped she would be. Rather, she was being the help he should have expected her to be. So far her recommendations had included a large stuffed animal that came up to Allen's waist and a set of finger paints. The stuffed animal was to make Eries' room cozier. The finger paints were to help bring out her artistic side. They were supposed to be super fun too.

Celena was still nagging him about the joys of finger painting well after they'd left the store and the paints on the shelf. "You know, Dr. Atrineu told me that painting was a really positive way to express yourself. He encouraged me to do it."

"Did he say to use finger paint?"

"Well, no," Celena admitted, "but why would you use a brush when you can use your fingers?"

Allen listed a multitude of reasons, the first of which was cleanliness.

Celena pooh-poohed such mundane thinking. "You can clean up paint with a little scrubbing. It's no big deal."

"You mean Aelia can clean up paint with _a lot_ of scrubbing."

"Jeez, I accidentally knock over one can of paint during the remodel and you're anti-paint for the rest of your life."

"You accidentally knocked it over into a pattern on the floor!"

"Yeah, that was really bizarre how the paint naturally dried liked that, wasn't it?"

Allen gave up. Celena was in hyper mood today. She was about as likely to admit guilt for the paint incident as she was to pick out a gift Eries would actually use.

Her third pick managed to be within the realm of possibility. Hanging in one of the stalls was a set of chimes crafted with pieces of shiny metal that brilliantly reflected the sunlight. Allen wasn't going to buy it for Eries but he agreed with his sister that it was pretty.

They went closer to inspect and found that the pieces hanging down weren't all metal. Some of them were shards from one of those strange discs Hitomi used to play music. Mentioning this to Celena was a huge mistake as it resulted in him spending far too much time trying to explain to her how these mythical 'Ceedees' worked. He wasn't too sure himself and went off what he remembered of Hitomi's explanation and wild guesses.

He finally settled on an explanation – Ceedees were like a book with the music written down on them and the device Hitomi used read that writing and used it to make music – that satisfied Celena. It also made the wind chime a thousand times more desirable to her.

She widened her eyes and said in her saddest, most wistful voice, "Wouldn't it be amazing to have a small piece of the Mystic Moon hanging outside your window? I think Mother would have loved that."

They left the stall, a steady clinking sound and a light show caused by the sun hitting the shards moving with them as they went to the next store. Few people _didn't_ take note of their passage, especially with Celena humming a song to the clinking.

One of the people attracted to the light and sound was the young swordsmen who'd served as Eries' guard between Alucier and Allen, Sedgewick.

He came up to Allen right as Celena was distracted by another shiny object at a booth. She caught him greeting Allen with a salute out of the corner of her eye, which amused her with its seriousness. The hilarity continued as Sedgewick spoke to Allen in a formal – and shade reverential - tone.

"Sir, if I may be so bold as to take a moment of your time to inquire if you have heard anything regarding the resumption of the Caeli tournament? We were told we would be notified when the tournament would resume but I thought, perhaps, that someone of your high-rank might possess more recent information?"

Allen hadn't heard anything at all about the tournament. Relaying that information to Sedgewick felt like kicking a puppy. Sedgewick was too well-trained to show any outward reaction but a slight lowering of his eyes and the tiny hint of disappointment he allowed into his voice when he thanked Allen for speaking with him was the knightly equivalent of drooping your shoulders while kicking the ground and whining, 'But I wanna fight in the tournament!'.

"I'm sure the moment all this summit business is settled, we'll pick right up," Allen tried to be reassuring. "You can always use the extra time for practice, though I doubt how much you need it."

Sedgewick practically beamed. While Allen didn't have the greatest of reputations amongst the nobility of Palas, any Asturian who had ever made serious use of a sword knew of his skill. For him to speak highly of Sedgewick's skill was the greatest compliment the young swordsman had ever received.

"Thank you, Sir," he uncharacteristically babbled, "but you speak too kindly. I could practice for years and I doubt I could match the display of swordsmanship you gave in the final match of your tournament!"

"Wow, Brother," Celena laughed. She'd been listening to the whole exchange and found it much more attention worthy than the wares at the stall. "I didn't know you had a fan club! Well, a male fan club…I know lots of females around Palas-"

"Celena, I don't think Sedgewick is interested in hearing any of this."

Sedgewick wasn't even listening. He was staring intently at Celena, at the soft paleness of her skin, the wisps of silver hair that curled delicately around her ears, the deep blue of her eyes…

"Uh, Brother, is there something wrong with him?"

Allen almost said 'no' as a reflex response to Celena's weirder questions. But this question wasn't weird and the answer was most definitely yes.

"Forgive me, my lady," Sedgewick said with a bow, "but I am unaccustomed to speaking in the presence of one so beautiful."

"Huh?" Celena looked around to make sure Sedgewick was speaking about her. She was the only female around except for a dolphin-woman at one of the stalls and she really didn't think Sedgewick would be into that. "You mean me, right?"

"Of course, my lady. Surely one of your grace and splendor has had many tributes to those qualities."

She hadn't. She'd overheard Revius recalling the sweet nothings he'd used in the past to charm women, but those had been literally nothing. Sedgewick was completely sincere. And he was talking about her. And using words like 'grace' and 'splendor' to do it. Celena didn't know what to do.

Allen did. His protective hackles rose instinctively. "I'm sorry, Sedgewick, but my _little sister_ and I must be going." He threw a sheltering arm over Celena's shoulder to escort her away.

Sedgewick got the hint immediately and rather than digging his hole deeper, used Allen's excuse as his own to make his exit slightly less awkward. "Yes, yes, I have duties back at the palace myself. Thank you for speaking with me." He barely nodded at Celena before slipping away into the small crowd. He admired Allen's sword skills but at the same time, had no desire to have a personal demonstration.

Celena summed up the brief exchange in four words. "That was really weird."

Allen told her to forget about it and urged her to continue shopping. Of all people, he had hardly expected the straight-laced Sedgewick to make a fool of himself over Celena. She was a pretty girl, but in Allen's head, there was a big emphasis on 'girl'. What kind of man wouldn't respect her age, especially when her older brother was standing right there?

That her age was roughly equivalent with Millerna's didn't matter. Celena had had so many years taken away from her; she should be given an opportunity to earn them back. Staying suitor free to enjoy her youth on her own was a way to do that. Dr. Atrineau had even said that.

Actually, he had said that Celena shouldn't be forced into activities, however age appropriate, until she felt comfortable participating in them. Allen was paraphrasing a bit to rule out dating, though not much because clearly Celena had been unnerved by the attention Sedgewick had given her.

She'd never received that kind of attention before. Of course, the only men other than him that she'd ever spent much time around were Gaddes or Alucier or Revius. She'd talked to some of the Crusaders on occasion. In other words, she'd dealt exclusively with men who either worked for Allen or with him in the Order.

Since there were only twelve Caeli and Allen couldn't afford to hire all the single males in Palas, he could look forward to encountering more young men with an eye for Celena and not a care in the world what her brother thought about it.

Now he was getting unnerved.

Celena had taken his advice though and was already back to checking out stalls and making outlandish suggestions. "Hey, look at that toy set! You can build an entire village out of those wood pieces!"

Allen did nothing to quell her enthusiasm. She would grow out of this phase soon enough. The last thing he would do is rush her.

He did however, stop short of buying her the bonus set of wood pieces so she could build a dream palace in the middle of her village.

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If Aston had possessed any extra strength, he would have used it to kick the doctor. But he didn't, so he used the strength he did have to finish walking the last lap around his room and sit back down in his wheelchair. He'd gone eight laps total which was all the more impressive considering the size of his bedroom. After he sat down, he was relieved to discover that he was merely breathing heavily, not outright panting as he had been doing after he'd made these trips.

The doctor, damn him, wouldn't give him any credit. He insisted that Aston was pushing himself too hard. It made him want to get up and try it again.

It also made him appreciate Millerna as a doctor more. She'd encouraged him to walk. She'd stand behind him, unobtrusively ready with the wheelchair should he begin to fall while telling him to keep going, he was doing so well. She didn't stand there wringing her hands and treating him as if he were made of glass.

She had Eries' party plans to make and she was making them with Dryden. Aston would put up with a lesser, nagging doctor for the morning for that. He'd need her for a few sessions though if he was going to pull off what he wanted to pull off for that party.

Until then, he'd block out the nagging or stick to much shorter walks like the one he'd been taking when Eries had come by last night. He was stuck with the nagging for now, so while he prepared for another set of laps by taking in deep breaths, he further calmed himself by picturing both Millerna and Eries here with him. Millerna could show the doctor how it was done and Eries could not only kick the doctor, she could kick him hard.

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The entire day spent at the market and all Allen had to show for it were things for Celena. It was a lot to show (so much that Aelia – _Aelia!_ - had scolded him for spoiling Celena) but it didn't cover the fact that he hadn't found a thing for Eries.

Celena was none too concerned as she dumped her set of wood pieces out onto the floor and set about constructing Celenaville. She motioned for Allen to join her. "What else are you going to do between now and dinner? And don't act like you're going back into the city to do more shopping because Aelia will sit on you and force you to have a home cooked meal if you try to leave."

"I don't have another day off to find anything," he said even as he settled onto the floor. He thought the mindless activity would give him time to think of a good gift. Plus, while Celena had been exaggerating about Aelia, it hadn't been by much.

"Who says you have to buy her something? You could make something. Bet you wish we had gotten those finger paints now."

Skill with assembling villages out of pre-cut wood pieces and sand aside, Allen had little talent with the arts. "I want to give her a present, not a headache trying to figure out what the present is supposed to be."

"You could say it was an abstract." She waited for the frown and the disapproving pronunciation of her name. She didn't get it.

"This really means a lot to you," she said. That really meant a lot to her.

"It's…" He wasn't sure how to explain why it meant a lot to him without letting Celena in on the secret. "It's her first birthday since we reconciled. I should get her something special."

They built in silence for a few minutes, putting up two houses and starting a third. Celena already had a suggestion, a real one, in mind, but wanted to hold off so it didn't look as if she'd thought about it as much as she had.

"How about you give her Mother's necklace and earrings, the ones she wore to the ball? They looked amazing on her."

Allen mislaid a piece, causing a wall to fall over. "Those are family heirlooms, Celena!"

"So?"

"So!" He really shouldn't have to explain this to her. "Those are meant to be kept within the family, either by you or…" He couldn't finish. The only woman who should have those jewels other than Celena would be his wife. He hardly needed Celena's thoughts on the idea of Eries filling that role. His head was filled with a rush of his own.

Eries had looked gorgeous that night. The dress and the jewelry looked as if they had been made for each other and Eries…as if she had been born to wear them. But she hadn't been. She'd been born to wear crown jewels and to marry a man of a much higher station than he. That's how the story traditionally went.

Traditionally though, most princess weren't as stubborn as Eries, their fathers weren't as accommodating. Eries – and he - had been lucky in that regard. It didn't look like Aston would ever force Eries to marry against her will. Dryden certainly would never push her either. So it came down as to whether Aston would ever let Eries marry of her own choosing. Probably not if Allen was the choice.

But Dryden… Dryden would get the throne after Aston. He wouldn't care who Eries married as long as she was happy. He'd just as likely get a laugh at the scandal caused by his sister-in-law marrying a knight.

"So…? You're really going to have to fill me in here, Allen, because I don't see a problem."

For the first time, he wasn't either. It would be a ghoulish waiting game of keeping their romance secret until Aston's death, but after that…

"It's…it's not an appropriate birthday gift," Allen said softly, "that's it."

"Why not? Eries is practically family anyway and I don't really want to wear anything that fancy."

Even as he argued with Celena as to why he couldn't give Eries the jewelry, the more he wanted to, the easier it was to picture her wearing them, to picture her here, in this house putting them away in a jewelry box on the dresser in their room.

He'd never let himself think that far ahead in their relationship. Now that the door was open, he couldn't stop. He didn't even try.

He wondered if Eries had ever thought the same thoughts, felt the same. He knew that she had.

With her opponent constantly getting lost in thought, Celena didn't feel like continuing the argument. If Allen was thinking what she hoped he was thinking, she didn't want to disrupt those thoughts. She finished building her village in silence, setting every last wooden piece neatly into place.

0-0-0-0-0

After a day of being the butt of far too many jokes between Dryden and Millerna (and later Revius, who couldn't resist joining in), Eries was thankful for some time alone in her quarters. It was a brief respite. She'd no sooner settled on the divan with a book in hand when Alucier knocked at her door.

She tossed the book aside. Catching up with a good friend was infinitely more interesting than the life story of a Cesarian artist. And with the few times they'd had together recently mostly being consumed by summit affairs, they had a lot of catching up to do.

More than Eries had thought. He apologized for bothering her so late, saying that he'd tried to find her earlier since he knew it was an off day for the summit and was surprised to find out she'd spent the day with Millerna and Dryden. He was really surprised when she told him what they'd been doing.

"Birthday? Crap. With six sisters and a mother, you'd think I'd remember how much women hate it when you forget their birthdays."

"Technically, my birthday isn't for three more days, so you haven't forgotten it yet. Though if we were to have this same conversation four days hence, I would have to take action."

"Don't worry," he promised, "I'll make a nice, big note to remind me. Then I'll toss it on top of a giant stack of paperwork and promptly lose it, but I'm sure everybody going to a ball that day will give me a clue."

"Speaking of paperwork…"

She asked him how the investigation was going. He responded by sighing and rubbing his temple. She took it to mean 'not well'. Eries also took it to mean he didn't want to talk about it and asked why he'd come to see to her.

Despite having sought her out, he hesitated to answer. She finally pulled it out of him by threatening him with more summit talk.

"Please, anything but that," he cried dramatically, then let out another sigh. "You're going to think me an idiot but…"

"But what?"

Alucier sucked it up and just said it. "Have you talked to Sita lately? Talked about me specifically?"

He was serious and looked genuinely worried, but Eries couldn't help but crack a smile. "You're asking me for romantic advice?"

"Friendship advice. I'm asking you for friendship advice." He had a sinking feeling they'd had this conversation before only with different names and the speaking parts reversed. He trudged forward anyway. "She's been very distant lately. I know she's got a lot on her mind, but that never stopped her from taking time to speak with me. She always said that was important, finding time for people you care about, because that helped her get through dealing with the people she doesn't care about."

It was very difficult for Eries not to laugh. She knew stopping her smile from widening would be outright impossible.

"I'm glad this amuses you," Alucier huffed.

"I'm sorry, but you have to admit this is ironic. All those years giving me advice as if you had all the answers and now you've come to me."

"I never said I had all the answers. I just had all the answers to your particular questions about Allen. And they were the right answers as I recall so why don't you bite your tongue or lip or whatever you need to bite to start showing me some respect and answer my questions?"

He wasn't truly mad at her. He'd be laughing too if he could be more objective. But if a little indignant whining would get Eries to tell him about Marqesita, he was going to whine.

Eries was sufficiently guilt-tripped. "I don't think you have to worry. I really haven't had a conversation with her that hasn't involved the words 'summit' or 'conspiracy' lately either."

"But she still talked to you at Allen's party the other day."

She remembered Revius commenting on the apparent cold shoulder from Marqesita. She'd dismissed it as Revius making something out of nothing and thought Alucier had done the same. Apparently, he'd taken it to heart.

"It was a party with some very high-ranking guests," Eries said. "She couldn't behave as she normally does. You know that."

"Just like you couldn't sneak away to catch some alone time with Allen?"

"You noticed that?" She wondered if he had been the only one. "We were only looking for silverware by the way."

"Silverware? Okay, we'll go with that."

Eries' sympathy waned. "You don't believe me? Why would I lie about something so trivial?"

"You really have to ask?" Eries would only stare at him though, her lower lip crimping into a frown, so he decided he had to answer. "The silverware is trivial. The whole you and Allen thing is not. I already know more than I should. I actually thought you might be showing me the consideration of sparing me the details. You'd be showing some smarts too."

This talk was much more overdue than a forgotten birthday. Eries realized she'd never actually talked to Alucier alone about what she and Allen had told him. They'd dropped the bombshell on him then went about their business, giving Alucier no real choice but to accept it, or act as if he did.

She didn't want it to be an act. He was her 'big brother' and Allen's old friend. She wanted his approval. She worried what it meant if he would not give it. After all, the countless amounts of advice he'd given her over the years had generally been right. "Alucier, do you think what I'm doing is wrong? I suppose I can see why you would think that after watching me pine so futilely after Allen in the past, but I'm not that girl anymore. And Allen isn't that boy."

"I know, I know. And I didn't mean to sound like I was judging you. But I can't help worrying about you."

"You do think I'm wrong-"

"No, I mean…" he said. He was sure Eries had heard everything he was about to say before, mostly from her own lips, but he needed to say it. "I just want to make one thing clear. I don't think Allen will hurt you. Rev is right. This is the most at peace I have ever seen the man and I don't think it's just because he's gotten his sister back. It's like he finally knows what he wants and can finally appreciate having it. And I know you never would have let yourself fall back into that obsessive love with the boy that did hurt you. The way you act towards Allen now, it's not the same as you acted back then."

Eries could feel tears welling up. He did understand. It had been foolish of her to ever fear that he wouldn't.

"Oh, boy," he sighed. Alucier had noticed the tears, making this part of the speech harder. "Look, I get that you're happy, that the two of you have found something together. But what I get is not necessary what other people will get. You know, other people like your father or your political rivals like Meiden, who truce or no truce, is the weasel you describe him to be. Allen won't be the one doing it to you, but the odds are still high that you're going to get hurt. Which, in a weird way, is probably worse, because if you lose him this time, you'll really be losing something. I'm sure you already know all this, but I feel like somebody should remind you because, well, obviously you've decided to take a different approach."

"Oh, Alucier…" He hadn't said anything remotely new so she knew exactly why he was so concerned. She also knew why he needn't be. "I do know all of that, but it's different now. I'm not afraid of it. If it happens – and I'm not so sure that it will be the case, it will happen, but until then what I, what Allen and I have is worth it."

"It's worth having him convicted of treason and being executed or being sent into exile? It's worth you losing all your political power? What are you hoping for? That maybe you can be exiled together? Or are you planning on living a secret for the rest of your life?"

In a way, it was comforting to see Alucier being the overprotective guardian. In another, it was frustrating. Eries knew what she was doing. She didn't need the warnings. Had she been more honest with herself about her father's mortality, she might have reached the same conclusion Allen had reached over building blocks with Celena but even without it, she was certain. Alucier was wasting time and energy worrying over her when he needn't, when he shouldn't with everything going on in his own life.

How to make him see that? "Those would be the worst case scenarios, Alucier. Father doesn't like Allen but I don't think he hates him any longer. Yesterday, he was actually being somewhat civil to him. And I have to trust Father would never do anything that would cause me that much pain." She added as a quiet afterthought, "Or anything that would disrupt his plans for me."

"Plans?" Some leads were too enticing not to pursue. With less coaxing than he'd anticipated, Eries opened up and repeated Aston's dreams of continuing his family's rule.

As a knight, Alucier had always been required to respect and honor his king. After hearing Eries' story, he realized he'd never need duty as an excuse to do so. "It's pretty conniving, but I have got to give the man credit. He played everybody without anybody having a clue."

"I was hoping you'd focus on the aspect that in order for this plan to work, he'd need for me to be cooperative, which means he would need for me to be happy." She didn't need to be snippy, but her father was _cunning_, not conniving.

"Well, yeah, that too." He seemed to consider something then asked bluntly, "Will you do it? Would you be willing to do what he wants if it means you'd have that kind of power?"

She was honest. "I don't know. I don't think I need to follow Father's exact instructions to do it for one thing. My public image might be more palatable with an upstanding Asturian husband."

"Upstanding?" Alucier liked Allen, liked Celena too in small doses. The public at large could have a different opinion though with Leon Schezar's infamous quest, Allen's reputation with women and Celena's general Celena-ness.

Eries was aware of these things too. She didn't care. "The Schezars are a very old family with deeper roots than half the current nobility. Allen's known as the best sword in the Caeli. If Father hadn't disliked him as much as he did, he would have been given better assignments and have even more renown. And if Father actually accepted him, no one would care about any other reputation he might have."

"You're not being defensive at all," Alucier wryly observed.

"Oh, be quiet. If I'm being defensive, it's because I must. I know we can't keep hiding forever. Eventually, I'll have to have this conversation with Father."

"Yeah, I kind of figured your hiding days were limited when you started talking about marriage. Jeez," he sighed. "That's really serious."

So serious Eries hadn't realized she'd been speaking of it as casually as she had. She hadn't meant to make it sound so matter of course, especially since it was the first time she'd ever spoken of it aloud. "I didn't say it would be tomorrow!" she sputtered. "I was speaking theoretically. Some day. Perhaps not too far away, but not right away. I mean…"

"I know what you mean. You're in a relationship that's going really well. You expect it to go further. Otherwise, what's the point, right?"

Eries nodded, relieved at the extra understanding from Alucier. The least she could do was return the favor. He'd come her to speak of Marqesita only to get sidetracked as usual by her romantic problems before getting his resolved.

"Is that why you're so concerned by how Marqesita's been acting? You feel as if you're not going to go any further?"

"Should I spare you the typical 'we're just friends' denial?"

"If you would. But in return I won't say anything if you employ the 'cleaning your glasses' stall technique."

"Ah, good. They were getting kind of dirty." He removed his glasses, but kept them in hand without cleaning them. Something about Eries being reduced to a pale blob made it easier to finally speak about this. He leaned back in his chair to make her go an extra bit out of focus.

"You know how things are between us," he began. "She flirts. I make sarcastic and self-deprecating remarks and everybody has a good time. But that's just the surface. We've been writing to each other for years. She started it and initially I only wrote back out of courtesy, not thinking there was any point because of what we are.

"Then I kind of started seeing a point because of who we are. I know it was stupid of me to ever start thinking like that. All I had to do was look at Allen and there was a perfect reminder why to never, ever even think of getting involved with a princess. So it's your fault really for taking away my reminder."

Eries didn't mind the blame being laid, however jokingly, at her feet. She did feel guilty for not realizing how deep Alucier's feelings for Marqesita ran. That relationship was something she'd always taken for granted, like Alucier had said. Flirting and jokes. She knew how highly Marqesita thought of him. _About the best man I've ever found. _That's how she'd described him. Yet Eries had never seen anything truly serious coming of it. She'd, rather hypocritically, assumed that status between them would always stay between them.

"I'm sorry," she apologized, "I should have been the most sympathetic ear in the world, but I haven't been listening."

"You are now. And it's not like I would have admitted it before now anyway. I was still denying it to myself. It wasn't until she started acting distant that I understood how much I want her to be close.

"God. Did that sound as pathetic to you as it did in my head?"

"Alucier…" It hadn't sounded pathetic at all. It was sweet really. Eries knew about the occasional romantic dalliances Alucier had had. A few noblemen's daughters, a woman who worked at the store where he bought his clothes. None of them had lasted or gotten serious enough to merit anything beyond a passing mention at the breakfast table.

Marqesita's name had come up considerably more often. Revius had made much of that fact, mostly, if not all, in the form of teasing. The irony was if Revius had known how serious Alucier truly was, he would have switched his commentary to match.

Eries would do no less than him. "It's not pathetic at all to care for someone." Before he could bring up her previous pathetic acts in the name of love, she clarified. "We can say and do foolish things because of it, but caring for another person is a natural, good thing."

He listened to her kind words and quickly came to a conclusion. "I am much more pathetic than I thought."

"Alucier!"

Her outburst only made him more certain. "Look at me. I spent years – _years _– telling you why you were being foolish and trying to stop you from doing anything too dumb and not only do you wind up in a relationship with Allen, but it's actually working and I, in the meantime, get involved in the same screwed up situation I tried to protect you from. And then I fall so low as to come to you and get really cloying advice."

"It was not cloying!" Reexamining what she'd said, she basically agreed with him. It was the poor manners that were bothering her. She was doing her best to help him.

The problem was that Alucier had no idea what kind of help he wanted. Sentimental 'there, there' pats on the head weren't going to fix anything. They felt good for the moment. That moment would soon be over, while the problem would not. His usual defense mechanism of mocking the problem until it went away wasn't meeting any success either. It was just ticking Eries off.

He really should do something about that. "I'm sorry. You're only trying to help and you must be desperate to do so if you're spouting lines that sound like they're out of some twee morality play. But come on, you have to admit this is screwed up. I thought I knew it all when lecturing you about Allen and now I'm in a situation that's even worse. At least the two of you lived in the same country."

There was that added complication. As Eries saw it though, there was also another factor that made Alucier's situation far better. "You're forgetting that my problems back then all stemmed from Allen not feeling the same way I felt about him. I would stake the royal fortune that that is not the case with you and Marqesita."

"You're that sure?" In the past, he wouldn't have taken that bet. Marqesita's recent aloofness was making him consider it.

"Positive." She repeated Marqesita's line about the quality of his character, omitting the portion where she also praised Revius because she didn't want to tear down Alucier's confidence with an awkward comparison. "I honestly believe the only reason she's been acting as she has is because of the mess with Tellot and the succession. She's under so much pressure now. Her focus has to be on her country and her family."

"And that's the thing," Alucier said. "If she does get the crown, that's where her focus will always have to be. I would never ask her to give that up. I'd refuse her if she tried. So what am I doing here?"

She had no answer, only more of the same generic feel-good advice that was worse than cloying. She couldn't bring herself to express sympathy for the cruel outcome that was becoming more and more inevitable either. "You should talk with Sita. No matter what the outcome, I think the quicker it's reached the better it will be for you."

"Yeah, I know," he admitted. "I knew before I came in here. Just had a wild hope that you would find something I was missing. I mean, you pretty much already have."

She wished she could pay back all the years of friendship and advice Alucier had given her. Without them, she doubted she ever would have been able to find her happiness with Allen. And now, when he was having his own trouble, she could do next to nothing. The only thing she could think of was getting Marqesita to speak to Alucier and that could lead to him being hurt worse.

There was one more thing. After Alucier replaced his glasses and rose to leave, Eries embraced him and promised she would do anything he asked of her.

He thought briefly of ways to exploit her largesse and came up with only one. "Just find out who the jerk behind all the summit crap is for me. A juicy promotion to commander of the Caeli would be a good distraction from my love life."

She had her doubts as to how effective a distraction it would be, but she vowed to do her best.

0-0-0-0

The Cesarian was coming to think that his hired hitman's mistake wasn't stabbing Tellot. It was not stabbing him more deeply and at a point where a vital organ was located.

He had to check himself from entertaining the fantasy too much. He had the motive and the means to execute it, but alas, he needed Tellot alive.

The Cesarian gave Tellot no appearance of thinking these dark thoughts. He simply smiled patronizingly while the big oaf bothered him again in person for the second time in as many days.

"Maybe we should call it off," Tellot said at the end of his panicked ramble. "I don't want anyone else getting hurt on account of me."

The Cesarian kept smiling. The next stage of the plan called for precisely someone else getting hurt. He hadn't shared that with Tellot. He also wouldn't share that he wasn't about to change his plans after they'd come so far.

"You worry too much. Your injury was a regrettable mistake but we've learned from it. Our goal is to create fear and mistrust amongst the other delegates, not kill them off." Of course, the easiest way to achieve that goal was to kill one of them off. What Tellot couldn't figure out on his own wouldn't hurt the Cesarian though.

"But what if something does go wrong again?" Tellot whimpered. "You said the guy you hired to attack me was the best!"

"Our associate hired him. Clearly, his eye for these things is lacking. That is why I have chosen the operative for the next phase. You have no reason to worry."

The Cesarian was so calm, so sure. His manner caused the opposite in Tellot. His wound was sending out pulses of pain. He was sure he was about to break out into a cold sweat. "What if they don't throw this party like they're supposed to?"

At this the Cesarian actually laughed. "They're Asturians! The concept of not celebrating Princess Eries' birthday with a ball doesn't exist in their mentality. Believe me, Tellot, tomorrow you'll receive an invitation and you'll know how carefully I've planned everything."

Tellot relented. Arguing with the Cesarian never got him anywhere and he was eager to be out of his company. He'd wait for a sign. If the Cesarian was right and there was going to be a ball, Tellot would stick with him. If not, he'd confess everything to Marqesita and pray she'd understand.

For the first time in his life, Tellot was dreading the idea of going to a party.

0-0-0-0-0

After agreeing to the truce with Eries, Meiden did all he could to show he was abiding by it to his son. He knew it pleased Dryden along with making it easier for him and Millerna. Plus, with his other plans out in the open, Meiden kind of needed a back up and being nice was the only thing he had to go on right now.

He was on his best behavior when Dryden returned to the Fassa estate late at night, waving at the palace guards who dropped him off by the side door and giving his son a big smile.

"Started drinking early tonight, huh?" was Dryden's response to the warm welcome.

"Why do you always have such a hard time believing I'm happy to see you?"

Dryden was in far too good a mood to start something so he shrugged and told Meiden it was great to see him too.

"You're getting back very late today," Meiden observed. "That means either your party planning went very poorly or very, very well." He'd already seen Dryden's loopy grin and knew which one it was. He was after details.

The two walked into the house, Meiden signaling a maid to fetch some food to eat while they talked. By the time they'd settled into Meiden's office, the efficient maid had brought them a platter of bread and cheese. Meiden retrieved a bottle of vino from the private stock he kept behind his desk. Only the best would do as they discussed his once and future daughter-in-law.

Meiden was very pleased to hear how wonderfully Millerna and Dryden had gotten along. He laughed as Dryden repeated the jokes they'd exchanged and brought up suggestions when Dryden mentioned the loose ends they hadn't yet tied up.

He wasn't unappreciative but Dryden couldn't help but to be curious. "You're being awfully helpful. I didn't think Eries' birthday was one of your favorite holidays."

Meiden chuckled in the spirit of his supposed new found attitude towards Asturia's second princess. Then he ignored her. "This party, aside from your little jaunt to the market, is the first public appearance you and Millerna will have together since your reunion. Naturally, I want it to go well."

"Ah, is that why you offered to get the invitations printed? So you can put our names together in big print while leaving Eries' birthday to a footnote?"

"The princess hates these parties. I assure you, if it were up to Eries, there would be no party."

"Wanna bet?" It wasn't a fair bet really, since he'd told Meiden that he was planning the party, he'd forgotten to mention that Eries had specifically requested that he do so.

Meiden never gambled with anyone with that cheerful of a poker face, so he ruled Eries' preference for party or no party irrelevant. "Fine, then I'll assure you that Eries will also enjoy seeing you two together. I know I will or, I would…" he trailed off leadingly.

"You want to be at the party," Dryden concluded flatly.

To the public, Meiden was still out sick from the summit. That explanation was growing weaker by the day as, for it to be true, Meiden would have to be tucked into his deathbed. It was time for new excuse – one that would please the public and the conspirators who had framed him.

Dryden didn't know what that excuse would be but luckily, Meiden had already come up with one for him. "I think we should frame it as part of you reassuming your duties as Prince Regent. I was sick for a few days, allowing you to get your feet wet, but now that you've dived fully in, there's no reason for me to come back."

"That…" Dryden considered, "Sounds really good." Very charitable too. "But that makes it sound like you're stepping away from politics for my behalf. I know that ain't happening."

"That would be an absolutely frigid day in hell," Meiden said. "But I'll make it very clear to everyone I'm letting you run the summit."

"Actually, Eries, as the king's proxy, is running–" He stopped, picking up on what Meiden had said. "You've already decided for everybody that not only are you going to the party, you're going to put in an appearance at the summit too."

Meiden casually nibbled on some bread. "Oh, well, naturally, I expected to be at the party. No one with any sense would believe I'd miss this event. And after that, why would I miss the summit? I think the best course of action would to be to let me out of my little cage here so I can put on a bright face for our observant public."

"What about the conspirators?"

"Please," Meiden sniffed. "If the conspirators knew enough to predict how we would all react, they know how vain we Asturians are about our parties. They'd think nothing of me being there."

This was true and Dryden conceded another guest for the guest list. He'd run it by Eries tomorrow, after the morning recap when they actually started getting down to business and when she was generally the most distracted. "Make sure you send yourself an extra nice invitation."

He planned on it. Meiden knew exactly where to go too. It was the same printing press he'd always used since he'd put up the capital to start it up. There was no sense in doing business with a press that didn't pay him dividends.

Thinking of the press sparked a memory, an important memory. Before Dryden could get another helping of bread and cheese, Meiden had swept the platter off his desk to lay open his journals.

"Jeez, Dad, weird time to balance the books!"

He explained while he skimmed for the relevant information. "I think I just remembered the Cesarian's connection to Egzardia."

0-0-0-0

Author's Note: Trip Through Your Wires - Itty, bitty bits of truth start to leak out. Meiden has a plan. The Cesarian has several. Who do you root for? One more chapter until the big party blow out.


	31. Trip Through Your Wires

Intrigues of a Princess

XXIX: Trip Through Your Wires

Dryden anticipated the revelation of the Cesarian's connection to Bennor by scooting forward in his chair until he was perched on the end. This new information could be vital, possibly exposing some hitherto unnoticed piece that could unravel all the complicated threads of the conspiracy. Alternately, it could prove to be an unremarkable bit of trivia. Either way, Dryden had to know.

Meiden, however, was not inclined to share. He chuckled to himself, shook his head and then, much to his son's frustration, didn't say another word.

"Come on, old man, fess up," Dryden urged. "Is it big?"

"Hmm?" Meiden seemed to not even be aware of what Dryden was talking about much less interested in answering his question.

"The Cesarian! How does he know Bennor? Does it mean anything?"

"Oh, that," Meiden yawned. "I wouldn't be concerned about it if I were you. It's nothing exciting."

"Are you kidding me?" Dryden hoped his father was only pulling his leg and would talk once he'd gotten a good laugh over watching his son work himself up into a tizzy. If not, he was reconsidering having Eries abide by the truce that had been made.

"Dryden, it's really nothing. That's what I found so humorous. All this fuss and bother about it and it's nothing more sinister than the former queen of Egzardia having a private dealer for all the latest Cesarian fashions she was always so keen on wearing."

Dryden sank back into his seat, utterly bemused. His mouth hung open in a silent 'huh?'.

"I told you he was a textile dealer. He sold directly to the queen. The woman had closets the size of most people's homes so it was a lot of selling. Ask either of the princes or the princess about their mother. They'll remember."

"That's it? You jumped up and tore through your books just to get that?"

"I'm afraid so."

Dryden wondered if he should bother Eries and the others with this. It fell so far short from a breakthrough for the investigation that it might have been better if Meiden hadn't recalled at all. They would at least still have had hope then.

"Well, thanks anyway," Dryden said. "If you remember anything else…"

"I know, Dryden. You want me to tell you everything."

Dryden turned in for the night shortly after, the disappointment making him both tired while also keeping him awake trying to think of what to do next. Meiden didn't like seeing his son in such a state but didn't see a way to avoid it.

More truthfully, he did see a way. It was that specific way that he wanted to avoid. Meiden highly doubted that the conspiracy had ended with Tellot's stabbing. He also thought that when it continued, it would be in a similar, if not an even more, violent manner. He would not have Dryden be anywhere near that violence. If someone from the Fassa family had to take on these conspirators, it would be him.

So he kept the truth to himself. He wasn't sure what to do with it just yet. His instincts were telling him he was right but he needed some additional information first to be able to confirm his suspicions. He'd been made a fool of by following his original instincts about the Cesarian. Now that he fully recalled that incident from the past that showed the man to be not as meek as claimed, he was going to play it very cautiously.

Even, and it galled him to think it, if that meant he would be playing with Eries and her pals.

0-0-0-0

Allen showed up for duty at such a dreadfully early hour, Eries only managed to mumble at him as she finished getting ready for the day. More annoying than being early, he was being exceptionally cheerful. Even though Eries was in her bathroom while he was on the opposite side of her suite setting the breakfast table, he was chatting ceaselessly about his day out with Celena.

There was something about blocks and finger paints and a wind chime from the Mystic Moon. Eries splashed cold water across her face to wake herself up. She was certain she'd misheard that last one and wanted to have some clue as to what Allen was babbling about.

Allen babbling… Something was up here.

"Is there a reason why you're in such an exceptionally good mood?" she asked when she emerged from the bathroom.

He smiled that infamous smile. "I'm here with you, aren't I?"

She couldn't stay mad at that. The flirting was an extra charming touch because it had been missing for the past few days. World-shaking political plots could do that to a couple. She should have known though that Allen Schezar was incapable of letting the romance fade.

She, however, was incapable of letting fluffy answers suffice for genuine questions. "You must have been in a good mood before you even arrived here to be able to get up at such an ungodly hour."

"Actually, I didn't have to get up. I was already awake."

"Oh, wonderful, a sleepy guard. Just what every princess wants when there are assassins lurking in the shadows."

"Do I look sleepy to you?" He moved in close – very close – so Eries could get a good look.

She didn't see a trace of sleepiness in his eyes. She moved closer as well, just to make sure of course. She caught a whiff of the fruit muffins Aelia made on his breath. _Peach, _she thought as she tasted his mouth.

"Now you look like you're in a good mood too," Allen said.

"I'm here with you, aren't I?"

Unfortunately, they didn't have too much time for this. Soon, palace staff would appear with food for breakfast and another Caeli or two would appear with the appetite to eat it. That reminded Eries of Alucier's visit last night. Part of the reason she'd been so drowsy when Allen had arrived was that she too had had little sleep last night. She'd been thinking of what to say to Marqesita. She wondered what had preoccupied Allen.

"We saw Sedgewick at the market yesterday," Allen explained. "Or more precisely, he saw Celena."

"What did she do?" Eries asked while imaging horror stories of Celena bounding around the market. Being cleverer than she let on only amplified the level of mischievousness Celena was capable of.

"She stood there."

"Stood there?"

"Yes, while Sedgewick admired her beauty."

Eries thought at first he might be joking, though she didn't see why he couldn't be serious. Celena was a pretty girl, her short hair somewhat unconventional but not so much that it would put off potential suitors to her other charms. And she was a Schezar. Allen had them put away now, but Eries had seen the multitude of family portraits that dated back centuries. Whatever trials and travails the Schezar family had seen they had always looked good going through them.

Any doubts to as to how gravely Allen viewed this situation were dispelled as he continued. "She was confused by the whole experience. She didn't say anything afterwards but I could tell she was bothered by it."

"_She_ was bothered by it?"

"I was bothered too," Allen admitted. "But on her behalf. I don't care what age she appears to be. Her mental state doesn't match it yet and that kind of attention shouldn't be directed at her."

This time, she wouldn't fault Allen's overprotective streak. A pretty young girl with the mind of a child was absolutely not ready to receive the affections of the opposite sex. But Celena only had the mien of a child. She could be astute in some areas, suggesting that she could achieve the same amount of understanding in other areas if only she could gain some exposure to them.

With Allen as her older brother and guardian, Eries thought that this particular area would get limited exposure at best. He didn't know the whole truth, which was Celena's fault not his. Eries wouldn't go so far as to outright betray Celena's secret but she couldn't leave Allen in the dark with nothing to guide him.

"I agree that it can be disconcerting," Eries said, "but it's something she'll have to become used to unless you're planning to keep her locked away at the estate." She paused to give him the chance to deny it. He did so, albeit with caveats about how Celena didn't like coming into town all that often anyway.

Eries nodded understandingly. "I think she might surprise you if you give her the chance. You said she didn't talk about it later. Perhaps she's already handling it better than you think."

He conceded this could true and then dropped broad hints as to how to ascertain that for certain. "She might not have wanted to talk to me. She might feel more comfortable speaking with another female…"

"And I qualify as that." Eries had known this talk was coming; the only thing that needed to be sorted out was when it would take place. It had been narrowed down to soon, though she didn't know how soon. She'd already promised to talk to Marqesita on Alucier's behalf.

That would definitely not be a 'two birds with one stone' situation. Both situations were tricky. Eries didn't want to imagine how much trickier they could get with Celena receiving advice on men from Marqesita.

0-0-0-0

When Dryden repeated what his father had told him to Eries the following morning, she found the information so benign, she leaned over to Egzardia's table and asked Marqesita about it in full view of the rest of the delegates.

Marqesita looked over to the Cesarian's table, studied the Cesarian in question and shrugged. "Could be. I never paid attention."

Bennor, on his first day back to the summit as his absence had started to draw attention, was able to confirm Meiden's story. "You've met him, Sita. Don't you remember when Mother bought entire wardrobes for all of us? He was at the palace for a month filling the order."

"I do remember those knee-length pants she had made for you," Marqesita smirked. "All they needed was a cute hat and you would have looked like the little sailor boy from the fairytales."

Bennor was not happy with her selective memory. "That you can remember, but anything useful goes right out of your mind."

"Like I said, I didn't pay attention to the salesman. I didn't want to. Mother did not have the same taste in clothing as I do."

Under his breath, Dryden posed the question, "Does that mean she actually wore clothes?"

Eries gave him a light kick under the table. A similar thought had crossed her mind but she had the decency to keep it to herself.

"Besides," Marqesita continued, "I'm not the one who had secret meetings with him lately. See, I remembered that?"

"Yes, because it was something unimportant. I told you nothing came of those meetings. I met with Fassa more anyway."

Eries decided to tune out the rest of their quibbling. She could tell from Marqesita's tone that it wasn't serious. Overall, petty bickering seemed to be the default mode of communication between the two of them. As long as it didn't devolve into nasty allegations as it had before, Eries wouldn't intervene.

Bennor's reappearance was duly noted at the summit's start. Some of the delegates expressed concern he'd been out so long. Bennor blamed Asturia's cooler climate and his unfamiliarity with it for the severity of his cold. This brought some laughter from the delegates as, with the exception of Freid, Asturia had a warmer climate than the other countries. Eries watched the delegates for any hint of surprise that Bennor was back, but couldn't find any. The only people that acted disappointed were Nuri and General Adelphus and that was because they were annoyed with the frivolous delay of the proceedings.

A Basramian asked Dryden if his father would be back as well. Dryden informed him that they were stuck with him. "Father was only serving in my place as Prince Regent until I could return to Asturia and have time to familiarize myself with the summit. Now that I'm here, he's leaving it to me."

It wasn't quite the formal announcement that they'd discussed. The message was the same though and those who weren't in on the conspiracy wouldn't be suspicious. Those that were would chalk it up to a good cover story. It worked.

So they were back to business, Meiden and Tellot's absence appearing on the surface not to affect anything. To an outside observer, there was no sign that they were the harbingers of an event that would alter the entire course of the summit.

0-0-0-0

Though it had been just another day at the summit for everyone else, Bennor's relief at being able to attend at all had put him in a good mood – or what constituted a good mood for him. He was so cheerful he made no snide comment at all when he returned to his quarters to find Tellot sitting in the common area, starting disconsolately at what appeared to be a party invitation. He asked if he could see it, snatched it out of his brother's hands when he received no response, then tucked it back where he'd found it after he'd confirmed that it was a simple party invitation.

Meiden's press had spent the morning cranking the invitations out, setting aside all other work until they were done. Despite the rush job, the work was exquisite. Ornate handwriting on marbled parchment announced the date of Eries Aria Aston's twenty-second birthday and the location and time at which it would be celebrated. The invitation had come rolled up in a silk ribbon which lay discarded on the floor.

Bennor stooped to pick it up. Tellot still said nothing. Annoyed at the silent treatment and a trifle concerned, Bennor finally asked him if something was wrong.

Tellot made a soft noise that was halfway between a 'yeah' and a 'nuh'. Bennor requested clarification.

"It's nothing," Tellot mumbled. "I just can't go to the party. With my injury, I mean."

"I don't see why not. You're only prohibited from doing strenuous activity. Although the way you eat and drink might qualify, you should be able to attend if you pace yourself. I'm sure Sita would help you."

Tellot made the 'yuh' sound again, decreasing Bennor's patience while upping his worry.

"What's wrong with you?" he demanded. "In actual words instead of grunting."

"It's nothing."

"Then why are you acting as if that invitation were a funeral announcement?"

So softly that Bennor couldn't be sure he'd heard him properly, Tellot said, "It might be."

"It…what? What do you mean?"

Tellot wouldn't answer. He hadn't moved since the invitation had been delivered but now he was up like a shot and out the door.

Bennor followed him until the turn in the hallway then gave up. Whatever was going through his brother's mind, Tellot wasn't going to share. All he could do was talk with Marqesita when she got back. She knew Tellot better than him.

There was something important in Tellot's bizarre behavior. Bennor didn't know what to make of it except that it gave him an alien feeling that was hard to identify. As he returned to the common area and took another look at the invitation, he was able to quantify it.

Tellot knew more about what was going on then he did.

0-0-0-0-0

It would be a while until Marqesita would return. She was currently in Eries' room, listening to a summary of the conversation that had taken place here last night. If it were up to Marqesita, she'd go to her quarters immediately. She didn't like hearing what she was hearing.

She knew Eries was only bringing up the unavoidable. Marqesita had been hoping to avoid it for a while longer though. She knew what the outcome of any talk with Alucier would be and she dreaded it. In the end, both of them would be hurt.

She half listened to Eries while feeling increasingly anxious. She knew she never should have let her flirting grow into real feelings. She still didn't, however, how she could have stopped herself. A weakness for a man in glasses had expanded into a weakness for an intelligent man, for a humorous man and on into a weakness for a man who understood her and cared for her. Too much good man, too little will power.

But just as Eries was telling her that Alucier would never ask her to forgo the crown for him, Marqesita would never ask him to leave the Caeli or his country. The commander post was his, she was certain. He deserved it and more. He had one family in Dunhaven and another here in Palas. Egzardia was not his future. Neither then, could she be.

"Will you talk to him?" Eries asked.

Marqesita wasn't used to seeing her fellow princess show any emotion, but it was plain Eries was almost as anxious as she was. She hoped it wasn't because Eries believed it might work out.

"I don't know if I need to," Marqesita answered. "He seems to have figured it out on his own."

"Marqesita…"

"What am I supposed to say? That I'll reassure him that everything will be all right? I refuse to lose him as a friend but we both know that's not what we want from each other."

"Ignoring it won't make it go away."

"But saying it aloud will make it harder to go back to Egzardia alone." Marqesita's voice quavered on 'alone'. She'd been trained to be stoic under the worse of conditions as part of her position of princess. If it weren't for that training, she thought she'd be close to bawling like a child by now.

Eries could be equally stoic. But it didn't feel right. "I'm sorry," she said softly. "I know this is hard for you. But I thought-"

"But you thought since you got your knight, I might get the happy ending too? Sorry, I know I'm not supposed to know about Allen for a fact, but you really need to watch your body language around him. You're so rigid and formal around everyone else it's suspicious that you're so at ease around him."

"I'm at ease around other people," Eries said defensively.

"Not that at ease. See how straight you're sitting up even now?"

"I…" She was using proper posture that was all. She wouldn't get defensive about it. She suspected that was what Marqesita wanted. That way they'd get off topic and she wouldn't have to discuss Alucier anymore. "You're right. I should have told you. But the circumstances…You know that's why I can feel for you. We haven't exactly reached that happy ending yet."

"Ah, you're too stubborn not to. And Allen, once he's taken a cause to heart, is almost as stubborn as you."

"I would think stubborn is one of the first words someone would use to describe you as well."

"But it's different. Even if I don't get the crown, I'll still have to stay active in politics to make sure Bennor or Tellot don't screw up too much. I can't do that unless I'm living in Egzardia. I can ask Alucier to take a vacation there. I can't ask him to drop his whole life and move there."

It was what Alucier had said to Eries, only reversed. She hadn't been able to argue with him last night and she hadn't come up with anything else since to argue with Marqesita now. It was funny. A few months ago, she wouldn't have even bothered to think of arguing. She would have dismissed the situation as hopeless and advised everyone to move on. Bridging her own 'impossible' problem had, perhaps, given her too much hope.

Saying she was sorry again was all she could offer.

Scant as it was, Marqesita accepted the condolences gracefully. ""Some things are just not meant to be, I guess. Just promise one thing: you'll look after him? I'm sure a single, dashing Commander of the Caeli is sure to attract all kinds of female attention. Make sure they know they'll have an Ice Princess to contend with if they don't treat him right."

She would do that. For all his years of protection and for all of her years of friendship with Marqesita, Eries would see that they found happiness, even if it was not together.

0-0-0-0

It took some time for Iribeth to find the Fassa estate. She was not used to roaming this part of town. Houses took up entire blocks of street and had multiple entrances – to the main house, to the guest house, to the staff quarters. It made her appreciate being a palace handmaiden more. The palace was big, but at least it was all one building. The people who walked the hallways knew she belonged there too. On the streets here, she felt conspicuous.

It probably had something to do with her still wearing her handmaiden's uniform. It clearly marked her as palace staff because the maids that worked in this neighborhood dressed according to their own employers' codes. She couldn't shake the feeling that everyone was wondering what she was doing out here.

That probably had something to do with the paranoia she'd taken on with her extra job of watching Princess Eries. She didn't want to be caught. She'd lose her job in a way that would make it harder to find another for one thing. For a second thing, she didn't want the princess to know she'd been spying on her. The princess might command a lot of gossip with her cool manner, but she also commanded a great deal of respect. Irribeth felt horrible for disappointing her.

It would be over soon. Master Fassa had promised her she wouldn't need to look after Princess Eries any longer. He'd learned what he needed to learn. The stipend she'd received from his messenger tonight was supposed to be the last of the money too. Unfortunately, it had come with a note that he might have new work for her.

She wouldn't have come if Master Fassa hadn't made sure to say this new work would not involve spying on any Asturians. She dealt enough with the man though to know that meant she'd be spying on someone else.

She almost told the messenger to tell Fassa no, but the lure of the money proved too tempting. Besides, she was only going to his home to find out what he wanted. If it turned out to be another less than favorable job, she could always turn it down.

Irribeth was a half-hour late when she finally knocked on the front door of the Fassa estate. She was shocked when it was Master Fassa himself who answered. He motioned for her to come in quickly and headed for his office. Irribeth had to jog to keep up with him.

She let him speak first. It was both out of manners and wanting to know what she might be getting herself into as quickly as possible.

"You did excellent work for me, my dear. I was hoping I would be able to use your services again."

Irribeth nodded nervously. This sounded big.

"There's another person I want you to keep tabs on. I don't require you to do any eavesdropping or make any kind of contact with this man. In fact, I advise against it. I simply want you to observe if he meets with another certain person."

It was sounding bigger and bigger by the second. Dangerous too. When she'd been watching Princess Eries, Fassa had told her it wouldn't matter should the princess become aware of her. She was to plead a nosy handmaiden defense and go about her business. But now he was cautioning against any contact. That couldn't be good.

"If such a meeting should take place, you are to report to me immediately. You are not to try to listen to their conversation. You are not to follow them anywhere. Your only responsibility is to tell me. Understood?"

She didn't have a clue. Oh, the basics were easy enough. If Man A meets Man B, come back to the Fassa estate and tell Master Fassa. It was everything beyond the basics that was making her stomach churn. Who are these men? Why is it important to know if they meet? What would happen to her if they saw her?

She'd get an answer to the first question only. Fassa began describing her primary target. He was the oldest Egzardian prince, tall, stocky, mahogany hair. She didn't really need the full description. She'd already gotten it from other handmaidens – half to tell her to avoid him, half to tell her he knew how to show a girl a good time. None of those descriptions had contained anything which implied he was dangerous though. Even the handmaidens who'd found his flirting obnoxious had conceded he was harmless and took rejection far better than a lot of nobles with an eye for a working class woman.

So it had to be the second man she was to be so cautious of. But from Fassa's description, she didn't get that sense either. She'd seen the Cesarian around the palace a few times. He'd always been unfailingly polite, good natured. She'd even seen him take a moment to appreciate the plants that decorated the alcove close to his guest quarters.

Neither sounded like a threat to anyone. She understood with Princess Eries that a scandalous affair could damage the Aston family. Fassa claimed he'd only had their best interests at heart. She hadn't quite believed him then and she had her doubts now.

"If I may ask, Sir, what is the significance of these two? As I recall, Prince Tellot e' Egzard hasn't even been at the summit since that horrible attack and barely leaves his room."

That was too bold and Irribeth expected Fassa to snap at her. He didn't. He was surprisingly gentle as he explained that she didn't need to know. "Trust me. It's for your own good. I don't like having to use a woman for such a risky task but your position in the palace allows you to observe while giving you a plausible excuse should someone observe you. And I repeat, you do not want these men observing you. If they are in collaboration as I suspect, they're far more dangerous than their simple appearances indicate."

He must have sensed that this was scaring her because he promptly switched to discussing her compensation. "But you shouldn't worry. If you follow my directions, you'll be fine – more than fine as I'm prepared to offer you a substantial raise from your previous assignment."

The money had been good for the first job. Any raise, let alone a substantial one, would have tempted her. But there was still some lingering fear of danger that made no amount of money enough.

Fassa had prepared for this. He wasn't just going to talk about the money. He was going to show it her. He set a stack of large, gold coins on the table in front of her. Irribeth added it up and reached a sum that exceeded her yearly wage.

She was suddenly reminding herself of how harmless her would-be targets were. And all she would really be doing is taking note if they met or not. These men weren't mind readers. They would never be able to tell she was spying on them.

"I'll do it," she said.

"Good, my girl. I'm sure you'll do an excellent job." He shoved the stack of coins towards her. "Take this as an advance. If you tell me what I want to hear, I'll give you a bonus."

With the job assigned, he repeated his instructions, emphasizing that she should only observe Tellot and to stay away from the Cesarian. Irribeth took it all to heart.

"Is there anything else?" she asked.

He considered this, his gaze going to a letter that lay folded on his desk. He noticed Irribeth looking at it as well and put it away. "No, that's all for now."

After Irribeth left, he retrieved the letter and reread the words he'd written. More than anything he wished he was wrong, that he hadn't misread the Cesarian so badly. It wasn't only for his ego's sake. Anyone who could out-lie and out-manipulate him was a serious threat. And if he really had gotten Tellot e' Egzard to consent to what Meiden suspected, there was no telling what else he was capable of.

0-0-0-0-0

"I told you, he was just some merchant that sold my mother clothes," Bennor said with a huff. His worry over whatever Tellot was up to had damaged his good mood. Alucier showing up again for another round of questioning had made it sour entirely.

At first, Bennor had thought the Caeli was here for Marqesita. He'd told him she wasn't in and had shut the door. But it hadn't closed all the way as there had been a booted foot stuck between it and the jam.

"I'm just trying to confirm everything," Alucier said. "I know you spoke to Eries and the prince regent this morning but I need to make sure no one is forgetting anything."

He wasn't in the best of moods either. He should have taken care of this the minute after Meiden had first mentioned the connection, but he had let regular summit business distract him. Then there was the situation with Marqesita. That hadn't made him too eager to come over to the Egzardians' temporary home.

"Ask Tellot about him," Bennor suggested. "He's older. He might remember more."

That brought up the obvious question. "Where is your brother anyway? I thought he was supposed to stay here until the doctors gave him a clean bill of health."

"Your guess is a good as mine. He keeps taking these walks around the palace. The gods only know why. He was never one for exercise."

He didn't strike Alucier as one to take a meditative stroll either. He hoped to Jichia Tellot wasn't back to roaming around the bars of Palas. He couldn't be. The guard had been given strict orders to monitor the comings and goings of the delegates from the palace. Any delegate that was alone was automatically assigned a guard. That guard would dutifully log when they left and when they came back. There was no way a man as big or as encumbered by an injury as Tellot was could sneak out.

Which meant he had to be somewhere on the palace grounds. Alucier had relaxed security a little after complaints from delegates. He hadn't wanted to but when several foreign leaders started complaining about being babysat, somebody had to make concessions to keep everybody happy. He hadn't caved in entirely, of course. The guards were still on duty; they were just less noticeably on duty. If Tellot was skulking around, he might not realize he was being observed. That should make him easier to find.

"I'll see if I can track him down," Alucier said.

He expected Bennor to welcome his imminent departure. Instead, he did exactly the opposite. "I'll come with you. I wouldn't mind asking Tellot a few questions of my own."

Alucier couldn't think of a valid reason to turn him down. 'I don't like you very much' was a good one personally, but professionally, it didn't fly. "Sure, if you want to…"

Bennor wanted to very much. He took a moment to grab a light jacket and then was urging Alucier to hurry up.

_This will be interesting_, Alucier thought and then followed after him before Bennor could ask him why he was being so slow again.

0-0-0-0

If Tellot had known he'd soon have a handmaiden, a Caeli and his brother on his trail, he would not have hung around the alcove at all waiting for the Cesarian.

If the Cesarian had known about it, he never would have shown. As it was, he had to keep reminding himself that he needed Tellot alive for his plan to gain control of Egzardia to succeed. Even with all the trouble Tellot was giving him, all of the other king's children would give him more.

"You're sure no one is going to get hurt at this party?"

"What did I tell you?"

Tellot knew exactly what the Cesarian had told him. It was believing it that was the problem. "I know, but-"

"How many times are we going to have this conversation? You're not even going to be there. I am. And I will be monitoring everything."

"What about our friend? He'll be there too, right?"

Much to the Cesarian's displeasure, the Basramian would be there as well. He hadn't gotten as whiny as Tellot had, but he was getting close. Karma must have an awfully perverse sense of humor to turn both of his conspirators into the exact sort of mewling fool he'd pretended to be to trick Meiden Fassa.

Tellot seemed relieved though when the Cesarian confirmed their friend's attendance. He wasn't completely satisfied and wanted to ask more questions, but even he knew they'd spent too much time in the alcove. They had to go before someone saw them.

Tellot took the long way back to his quarters. The other times he'd walked this route he hadn't noticed anybody on it. He noticed this time. It was kind of hard not to spot a palace guard getting chewed out by his brother. Marqesita's Caeli was standing there too, trying to get Bennor to shut up so the guard could speak.

His first instinct was to turn around. It would have been good move if he'd done it a second sooner. Alucier spied him just as Tellot was starting to pivot.

"There you are! We were getting worried about you being out on your own," Alucier said.

"Uh, I was just out for a walk," Tellot answered as casually as he could muster. That is to say he stammered on the first part and nearly squeaked out the word 'walk'.

The yelling at the guard had only been a warm up. As Bennor came towards his brother, he started hitting his stride. "Yes, a simple walk. Amazing how our friend the guard here couldn't seem to remember seeing you walking anywhere and he's been on duty all night. I wonder what the reason for that is?"

The guard made a pleading face to Tellot to take the blame. He wanted to, but he couldn't. Tellot understood that having an angry Bennor screaming at you was bad. He also understood that an angry Cesarian calmly explaining why you were wrong to have done what you did would be far worse. "Huh, that's weird. I saw him when I passed through. He did look kind of tired at the time."

The guard went from pleading to shooting daggers in an instant. Not only was Tellot not backing him up, he was actually lying! The guard hadn't so much as yawned since his shift began. He'd been very vigilant, though he hadn't done much except walk back and forth. There had been the noise over in the hall to the south wing. He'd checked it out and found that a vase had fallen over. The guard had suspected one of the palace cats had gotten too playful. Now he wasn't so sure.

The guard repeated his story to Alucier, ignoring Bennor because he suspected he wouldn't believe him anyway. Tellot, however, played the doubting one.

"Look, it's no big deal that you got tired. This job does look pretty boring."

The guard said nothing save offering a prayer to Jichia that the class system could be rewritten so that a lowly palace guard could call out a foreign prince when that foreign prince started lying his pants off.

"Or maybe," Bennor said, "you passed by here while he was checking out the noise."

"He claims he saw me though, your highness!"

Bennor shot the guard a look nastier than anything the guard could ever muster, especially now while he was mentally berating himself for his stupid mistake. Bennor had been trying to trip up Tellot and all the guard had done was send out a big 'it's a trap' signal.

Tellot read it loud and clear. "Yeah, Bennor. But I don't know, maybe he was coming back or leaving and I just misread him. It wasn't like I took the time to study him or anything." There, that should keep the guard – and him – out of trouble.

"Yeah, okay, that makes sense," Alucier said before Bennor could get out his next question. "I mean, it's not as if you're the type to go sneaking around the palace and knocking over vases to distract guards, right?"

Bennor and the guard both looked as if they would answer 'wrong'. Tellot swallowed and tried to reply. "Heh…yeah…I mean, why would I do something like that?"

Nothing was coming from this awkward stand off so Alucier let Tellot skulk back to his quarters without any more questions. Bennor thought this was a mistake. He believed they ought to question him more.

"Then do that," Alucier said. "You're his naturally pushy brother who always questions what he does anyway. A few more words _from you_ wouldn't be out of the ordinary."

"Unlike a few more words from the man who is in charge of the investigation," Bennor concluded. He had to give Alucier credit. He would get his interrogation and Tellot couldn't say for sure whether or not one was going on.

Bennor hastened to follow his brother. Alucier turned to the guard.

"Tell me about everybody who has ever passed through these halls and anything that has happened since the summit started."

The guard gulped. Something told him he was going to be in for an extra long shift.

0-0-0-0-0

"It is a lovely night for a walk, isn't it?"

Despite Bennor's cheerful comment, neither he nor Tellot were technically walking. Tellot was speeding towards their quarters as fast as he could, resulting in an ungraceful lope that his younger brother matched with a gait that was halfway between a light jog and stalking yet still managed to be more refined. Tellot didn't know how Bennor was doing it but then, he never knew how his brother did anything.

"I see. You don't feel like talking."

No, Tellot did not. His wishes weren't likely to have any effect on Bennor's chattiness other than worsening it, so Tellot muttered that he didn't have much to talk about and sped up.

Bennor stayed right at his side all the way to their quarters. Right at the door, he shot ahead and blocked the way in.

"I think we have a lot to talk about, Brother."

"Just leave me alone, Bennor." When push came to shove, Tellot could do his fair share of shoving and do it hard. If he wanted to, Bennor could be knocked back on his ass and out of the way with one quick movement. Tellot wanted to now, but he just couldn't.

This left Bennor free to push all he wanted. "You've been acting oddly for quite some time now but tonight was the strangest yet. What are you up to, Tellot?"

"I'm not up to anything. And since when do you think I'm even capable of being up to anything?"

"Recent events have caused to revaluate certain preconceptions. Can you blame me? Nothing in your previous behavior indicated you're the type to sneak off and then lie about it."

"Shows what you know. That's all I did when I was a teenager."

"Please, that was to meet your tramp of the day and then afterwards, you'd brag about it to everyone around you. Am I really supposed to believe that's what you've been so secretive about? You've got a pretty Asturian girl on the side and for once, you've decided to be discreet about it?"

"What else would I be doing?" Bennor regarded him so lowly that Tellot figured the truth would be less believable than any lie. "You caught me. I'm secretly taking part in some vast conspiracy. You know how I've always been attracted to the wonderful world of political backstabbing and manipulation!"

"No, you hate it," Bennor said.

"There, you said it yourself. Now will you get out of the way so I can go to bed?"

Bennor wasn't going to move. He wasn't finished speaking. "But do you hate it so much that you would let someone else do it for you if it meant you could settle the one political battle you know you can't avoid?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Succession, Tellot. You're out if Sita and I challenge you yet you still want to be king. Clearly you must have a backup plan."

"Yeah, it's called hoping you and Sita have enough respect for Mother and Father that you won't drag their names through the mud so you can get your way. He thought I was his son. I don't know why that isn't good enough for the two of you."

Angry, Tellot wasn't going to put up with Bennor any longer. He moved toward his brother and Bennor, too stunned by what he'd just heard, obliged by stepping out of the way.

It was the smartest thing Tellot had ever said because it scored on two fronts. The Egzardian people would not want a scandal to be the last memory of their beloved king. Neither would his children. Bennor had considered this before. He was too thorough not to. But those considerations had been done in his head, before his father's death and without his brother screaming the reality of it at him.

What worked on paper didn't always work so well when you got around to doing it.

He wouldn't let Tellot's outburst stay his ambition but it gave him pause to rethink his way of achieving it. In that pause, he also rethought Tellot's methods.

Never known for his intellect, Tellot had always let his emotions guide him instead. The nature of most of those emotions had been selfish and hedonistic in the past. Bennor hadn't thought his big brother of being capable of growing up and having them change. Clearly, he was wrong. Tellot had grown and his emotions had changed in response.

So that left Bennor with a bigger puzzle than he had before: where were these new emotions guiding Tellot and how much could they push him to do?

0-0-0-0-0

It was hard finding good help, especially when the help you were trying to find was an assassin. They couldn't exactly advertise with fliers nailed to the wall, could they?

They weren't impossible to find. The right connections could open a path to the right man for the job.

In all his years as a merchant, Meiden Fassa had never treaded that path. His reputation as a cutthroat was entirely metaphorical. Sure, he'd logged a kidnapping or two and seen some people roughed up, but no actual throats had been cut. That was a distinction Meiden felt important to make despite others not being so generous.

If he had his way, he would retain his technical non-cutthroat status. An outsider wouldn't be able to tell from the current company in his office though. That current company barely believed it himself when he heard Meiden's request.

"You want to hire me to see if somebody else will hire me?" Never had a clientele demand surprised the man. He found it ironic that one so benign had finally done the job.

"That's all," Meiden said. "My sources spoke highly of you. If you truly are the best in Palas, I suspect someone will be needing your services shortly."

"And I'm supposed to take the job and the money but do nothing but report back to you and get more money."

"Seems easy, doesn't it?"

The assassin didn't like easy. An idiot could do easy. What made him _him _was being able to do hard. Easy was a waste of skills. It also meant the job was too obvious and therefore, too dangerous to him. "So what happens if I do give you a name? You going to arrest the guy and expect me to show up as a star witness at trial? You know that will never happen."

"I wouldn't want it to. I assure you, any name you give me will be handled privately and efficiently."

That was what he was used to, minus him handling the efficiently part. He wasn't going to quibble too much. Once a client had his mind set on something, barring any egregious risks or nonpayment, he would do what the client wanted.

But that wouldn't stop him from wondering what in the hell Meiden Fassa was after. He wouldn't be the last one to wonder this either.

0-0-0-0-0

Author's Notes: Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me. Suspicions are raised, everybody's up to something. Sounds like the perfect time to throw a birthday party! Be forewarned, this is likely to be a big ol' chapter that gets split up.


	32. Hold Me

Intrigues of a Princess

XXX: Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me – Part A

Over the next few days, Fate came through for Eries and gave her any early birthday gift of relative calm. It was enough to almost forget everything about assassination attempts and shadowy conspiracies.

Allen retained his high spirits as news from Aelia indicated Celena loved being back home. There were no more incidents of besotted young men coming up to her. There weren't any opportunities for it. The only men around her at all were the Crusaders and Gaddes made damn sure they treated the boss's little sister with the utmost respect. They wouldn't have considered anything less anyway but they indulged Gaddes with his threats. Being on the ground for so long doing construction work gave him so few excuses to yell at them.

Dryden and Millerna had spent a lot of time together over those days too, another situation that had no choice but to be. As experienced as the palace staff was at throwing these balls, they still needed somebody to be in charge. Much as Crusaders liked a good yelling at now and then, the palace staff liked having a royal standing around pointing them in directions they were already heading. It was tradition.

Millerna was handling the pointing duties today while Dryden attended the summit. Even that was going well. The delegates passed a surprising number of resolutions in the morning. This was helped by the fact that Asturia, Egzardia, Freid and Fanelia repeatedly voted the same on each resolution, creating an automatic majority. It was almost as if representatives from those countries had met in secret the night before and reviewed how they were planning to vote.

Basram, Cesario and Zaibach weren't in total disagreement. General Adelphus's vote aligned with the majority more often than not and the Basramians only seemed to dissent when the Cesarians did and vice-versa. It was curious to Eries, but nothing overtly suspicious. The resolutions being voted on were still centered on trade and those two countries had always had similar interests in that regard. If anything, her voting bloc should have raised more eyebrows.

They weren't all playing nicely together. Bennor still had half a voice in for Egzardia and he made sure to use it. Though he ultimately caved and voted with his sister every time, he made sure everybody at the summit knew he was doing it for his own reasons and that each reason was explained thoroughly. It was a somewhat reassuring return to form after the recent dealings with a cooperative Bennor. There were some people Eries felt she wasn't meant to get along with.

Primary amongst that number was Meiden. He was being more unsettling than Bennor is his helpfulness. Other than the invitations, he'd also wrangled a celebrated Cesarian harpist to play at the ball and had personally commissioned Palas' most famous seamstress to create new gowns for both Millerna and Eries. At the fitting the other day, he'd been so pleasant and cheerful, Eries had been tempted to grab a large needle and poke him to make sure he hadn't been replaced by a Doppelganger.

The most obvious explanation for his behavior was that it was his way to raise Millerna's opinion of him. Eries suspected ulterior motives. It was a reflex reaction to the merchant.

Eries would not allow Meiden to be a distraction. The voting in the summit was proceeding how she wished it to proceed. That didn't mean she could relax. All was quiet on the conspiracy front, but that was both in terms of the conspirator's actions and the procurement of evidence to expose them. Without gaining the latter, she was afraid the former would not last.

Then there was the small matter of the stalemate that Alucier and Marqesita had reached. They'd been avoiding each other, which was exactly how neither of them wanted it yet didn't know how to make it another way. Eries had served as a relay but she'd passed no message more significant than 'say hi for me'. No one wanted to be the first to say it was over despite never having begun in the first place.

She still had Millerna and Dryden providing some karmic balance and her father was pitching in too. He'd been making rumblings at putting in more than a cameo appearance at the ball. It would be so good for Asturia to see her king out and about that the doctors who cautioned against him staying to long were quickly shut down. Millerna was positive he'd be fine and in case he did become too weak, Aston still had the sense to be able to make a quiet escape before anybody could ask what was wrong with him.

It was Eries' birthday. It was going to be the first formal joint appearance of Dryden and Millerna since their separation. Even without factoring in that all of the leaders of the Great Nations of Gaea would be there, this was an event far too important for the king of Asturia to miss.

It was enough excitement that Eries was actually anticipating her birthday celebration for a change. Tonight was going to be special. She could feel it.

0-0-0-0

Eries returned to her quarters to find a small commotion. The seamstress Meiden had hired, Ms. Delatour, had arrived early with her assistants for the final fitting. They weren't they only ones. Gaddes had brought Celena to the palace under the mistaken impression that Allen had given him the order to do so. Allen insisted he had not and when Gaddes produced a note with a decent approximation of Allen's handwriting on it as his defense, all eyes turned to Celena.

The girl didn't notice. The Delatour Seamstress Squad had been enraptured with her from the moment they'd seen her. With her height and trim build, Celena made a perfect model. A Delatour did not pass up a chance at perfection. They swarmed around Celena taking measurements and holding up samples of fabric. Celena had brought a dress with her to wear to the ball but it lied long discarded on the floor, clearly not up to snuff.

This bothered Allen on most levels a man was capable of being bothered on. He couldn't recall even mentioning the ball to Celena in the first place. He certainly had not invited her to come along. To bypass this lack of an invite by taking up forgery and lying to Gaddes could mean that this was the last night Celena would have outside the Schezar estate for some time coming.

He _really_ didn't like the fuss the seamstresses were making. Celena was not a doll to be dressed up, especially not in the type of woman's dresses that were being suggested. The repeated use of the word 'backless' wasn't helping.

"Ladies," Allen, ever the gentlemen, said, as he parted the sea of seamstresses to get to his sister. He said nothing to Celena, only glared at her until it would occur to her that she might be in trouble.

That never happened. His temperament zoomed right over her head when his presence finally registered. "Oh, hi, Allen!" she chirped, "Look what these nice ladies are doing for me."

"It is very generous of them. Unfortunately, I don't see a reason why you would need their services."

"Did you see the neckline on that dress she brought?" Ms. Delatour muttered. Her seamstresses nodded. Celena's original dress was a good three years out of date.

Celena motioned to the nice ladies as if to say Allen should trust the professionals. He would not. Celena wasn't about to not trust them. This was too much fun.

Knowing this standoff could last well into the start of the ball, Eries intervened. "Perhaps we could continue this another time, on a special occasion. Right now, I need Ms. Delatour's services and Gaddes should be taking you home."

"You don't consider your birthday a special occasion?" Celena asked.

The seamstresses paused. Making gowns for the royal birthday balls brought in more revenue than any other event. It was a _most_ special occasion.

"Of course it is, Celena," Allen said. "And we can celebrate it with her later. Tonight, she has to attend the ball."

"So why don't we take care of both by letting me attend the ball too." Celena gave a smile of triumph at her flawless logic.

Gaddes excelled at being a second-in-command because he knew when to back his boss up and when to point out the boss was being a bit of a dink. He never phrased it in those terms. His was a delicate touch. "Maybe she could go for the first hour or two and then I could take her home. I'm sure she'd be on her best behavior knowing the first misstep she made would get stuck in a carriage headed for home."

There were more nods from the seamstresses. It did seem like the fairest solution. Their opinion of it might have been slightly biased by the fact that a few of the seamstresses were picturing what Gaddes would look like dressed up and the others were picturing him going in the opposite direction entirely.

Allen wasn't swayed at all. He hadn't said anything but Eries could read his stiff posture. "Allen," Eries said, "perhaps you should listen to Gaddes. He's volunteered to chaperone her tonight and you know you can trust him."

"I did what?" Gaddes asked. He'd offered a ride home in his opinion, nothing more. Putting on another fancy costume and dancing with luminaries had not been on the plate.

No one else saw it that way. Celena was clapping at how wonderful Eries' solution was and doing some volunteering of her own. "You all could make something nice for Gaddes to wear by the time the party starts?" she asked the seamstresses.

They nodded yet again. They loved a challenge.

With all the women in agreement, the men were left with little recourse but to whine. Gaddes was insisting, mostly to himself, that he'd never said he'd actually go to the ball. Allen grasped Eries' arm and took her aside.

"I trust Gaddes," he whispered to her, "but what about all the other men at the ball? I told you how upset she was when Sedgewick was fawning over her. You know how men are at these balls."

_You used to be one of them. _Allen, of course, had never given attention where it was unwelcome but Eries couldn't resist finding irony in him, of all men, being appalled by the idea of other men fussing over a beautiful women. He wouldn't see it that way so she played up the Gaddes angle. "If she sticks with Gaddes the entire time she's there, I doubt few men will approach her. Besides, most of the men in attendance know full well she's your little sister and will treat her accordingly."

Allen was all ready to say 'but…'. He couldn't think of any words to go after it. Celena got her victory.

As a reward for giving in, Celena ran over and hugged him tightly. The seamstresses frowned over the relocation of their model but quickly moved on to newer subjects. Half the squad went after Gaddes, who backed away instinctively. The other half picked Celena's gown off the floor and announced they would do their modifications to it after they'd finished Eries' fitting.

Celena practically skipped into Eries' room, trailed by half of the seamstresses. Eries gave a sympathetic pat on Allen's back and then joined them. Gaddes moved much slower, almost to the point of not moving at all, as the remaining seamstresses headed off towards a spare room they'd used before when doing dressings at the palace. Before they could get too far ahead of him, one of them turned and snapped at Gaddes, "Come, come! The more time you waste, the greater the haste we'll be in when we're coming at you with pins and needles."

He'd seen those needles. Gaddes sighed and walked after them towards the lesser of two evils.

Only Allen stayed in the hall. Tonight was going to be a pain in the ass. He could feel it.

0-0-0-0

Meiden had always enjoyed strolling along the palace halls. He was known here. More importantly, so was his power. The recent false charges did nothing to diminish either that power or his enjoyment. His presence was always met with a courteous nod. People made sure not to occupy his path. When he walked up to the king's quarters on the third floor, the guard there thought nothing of knocking on the door straight away and announcing to Aston that his good friend was here to see him.

Meiden Fassa did not beg for the king's counsel.

He had to wait for a few minutes though as two doctors left to make room for Meiden. He was glad Grava had had sent them packing. In the past, such an action would be automatic as the matters they discussed were not meant for ears other than their own. The departure of the doctors signified Grava still held him in that kind of confidence. Though it had been no fault of his own, Meiden had harbored the tiniest of doubts that Princess Eries' screw ups might be held against him. Grava had been in a daughter favoring mood of late.

It had been some time since Meiden had seen the king. Going against the trend, Grava actually looked healthier. He'd lost weight since his illness, but for once the change didn't register as cause for alarm. With his color back, it looked as if the king was on a diet and taking care of himself instead of wasting away.

"You look well, Grava," Meiden remarked. "The people of Asturia will be elated to see the return of their king."

"Hmph," Aston muttered, "I suspect they're anticipating more the appearance of their dashing new prince regent and his beautiful wife side by side again."

"Can't say I'm not looking forward to it myself, though someone's going to have to hold down Dryden and shave him again if he's to appear dashing."

Aston laughed and it seemed as if their rapport was as it always had been. They even assumed their old positions at the table in Aston's room, though the king's seat had been moved aside to make way for his wheelchair. Meiden said nothing of this change. He followed the usual pattern of helping himself to the handsomely supplied liquor cabinet and offered Aston a glass.

"Do you have any idea the fit my doctors would throw if they caught me drinking?"

"So…half a glass then?"

"Be more generous than that, Meiden. If I'm going to get lectured, I want it to be worth it."

Meiden returned to the table, serving a glass that was only slightly more than half full.

Aston took it to be only slightly less than half empty. "That's what you call generous?"

"You want to be in good shape for the ball tonight, don't you?"

"A few extra drops of alcohol aren't going to get me slurring my words while I weave this chair in circles around the room. I know how important tonight is."

Another man might not have been able to picture the king acting so crudely. Meiden, though, well remembered their youthful years before either had married. They had graced quite a few taverns in those days and there had been no such thing as a closed bar to future king.

Meiden relented by pouring from his entirely full glass until Aston was satisfied. He couldn't resist working in a small rebuke though. "Drink up, old friend, but if you grab a handmaiden and start singing duets of our national anthem with her, I'm going to deny any responsibility whatsoever."

"Forty years ago," Aston sighed, "and you're never going to let me live it down."

"Why should we forget our younger days? Those were good times, Grava, and we've built a grand legacy from them."

"I certainly never would have pictured my daughter marrying your son back then. You probably did. I've never known you not to be planning something."

"Please, I never pictured any such thing," Meiden insisted. "I always thought you would have the son and I would have the daughter."

Aston laughed again, more than the liquor causing him to relax. Sure, he and Meiden might have been planning circles around each other to get the greatest gain, but they were still friends. They understood each other better than anyone else.

Which is why Meiden didn't bother with blaming Aston for his short term arrest. There were certain things a king had to do whether he wanted to or not. Approving an arrest warrant based on a pushy daughter's false evidence was one of those things.

Meiden was hoping that acting upon a pushy friend's circumstantial evidence was another.

"I didn't come here just to reminisce," Meiden admitted. "I do have a favor to ask."

"Good favor or bad favor?"

"Excellent favor. I have certain sources that might lead to the uncovering of the root of the conspiracy that attacked Prince Tellot and framed me."

"That's wonderful to hear, Meiden, but why aren't you sharing that information with Alucier Maerzen? He is in charge of the investigation."

"Oh, I have every intention of sharing it with him. I would prefer to do it in the form of a royal edict, however. Wouldn't give him any room to question me."

"And it would also provide a little touch of irony considering what the last royal edict I issued ordered him to do."

"Yes, there's that too," Meiden said with a smirk.

However dubious Meiden's actions might be they always provided entertainment. Sometimes it came in the form of figuring out what the heck he was up to. Other times, Aston knew exactly what was coming and wanted to see how it would play out. Aston's current mood favored the latter and he urged Meiden to spit it out. "All right, tell me what you have."

"I've hired an assassin."

"Meiden!"

"For the purpose of seeing if anyone else was going to hire him."

"I'm assuming you're letting a criminal roam free for a greater reason than trivia."

"Of course," Meiden said casually. This was all no more worrisome to him than a change in the weather. "Given the condition of the assassin who was hired to attack Prince Tellot, our conspirators are going to need to do some recruiting."

"You're sure they're planning another attack?"

"Wouldn't you?"

Aston would have like to have said he wasn't the kind of king to plan a first attack, but his position didn't really afford him to have a sterling set of black and white ethics. He nodded to Meiden, that yes, if he had been behind all this, he would not have given up so easily. "So what has he reported?"

"Nothing at all. He hasn't even heard rumors of anybody hiring." This wasn't the blow others might have taken it for. For a man used to thinking through any given situation multiple times and via multiple points of view, silence could speak volumes. "It could mean we're both wrong and our opponents have given up without much of a fight. I'm not buying that though. They made such an effort before. They can't be the types to tire easily."

"So what do you believe they're doing? Importing?"

"With the security checks going on for each ship that lands, that would be risky. Plus, they used local labor for the first job. That went off well enough. The rumor's still out that Bennor e' Egzard and I are under suspicion. Their boy will pick up sympathy points with the Egzardian people once he gets home."

"For someone who values getting to a point quickly, you're doing a lot of meandering, Meiden."

"So I am," Meiden admitted. "The truth is I'm not sure where I'm going with this. I have only my gut instinct and a tiny bit of knowledge about a Cesarian delegate that I'm not supposed to be privy to. Which is why I do really need you to force Maerzen into cooperating with me."

Aston didn't ask what the dirt on the Cesarian delegate was. Meiden would have told him if he wanted to. If he didn't want to, Aston wasn't going to drag it out of him without a good long effort He had better ways to spend his afternoon. "Fine, fine. I guess I owe you one after letting Eries get carried away."

Meiden practically beamed. He was getting his way and Aston had thrown him what counted as an unexpected apology. He was on a roll and if everything panned out as he anticipated, the biggest coup of his political career since getting Grava to agree to Dryden's engagement to Millerna would take place tonight.

He'd have to share some credit with Maerzen of course, but that wasn't cause to fret. There would be glory to spare.

0-0-0-0

Contrary to the conventional wisdom about women and the time they took to get dressed up, Marqesita was ready for the ball long before either of her brothers. And all they had to do was change the jacket on their military uniforms to a dressier version and slap a few pins and medals on. She had to toss the uniform entirely, slink into a dress, redo her hair into a more evening appropriate style and then slap on the equivalent of pins and medals in the form of jewelry.

She could have kept the uniform on and left her hair in a braid, but this was likely to be the last evening in which she and Alucier could pretend they had a future. She was going to send him off in style.

The dress she'd selected for the evening was more conservative than her usual style. That wasn't to say it was drab. Everything below the shoulders was covered but the cut and fit of the fabric let everyone know exactly what was being covered.

Bennor emerged from his room as she was taking a second look at her hair. He was affixing a medal of service given to all Egzardian royalty for the amazing feat of simply existing to his jacket. Though it was meaningless, the medal looked impressive to outsiders so it got trotted out at all the important events. Bennor could have lived without it. It was heavy and large and the clasp on his was fiddly. The only reason he did wear it was because Tellot's love of shiny things caused him to wear his every chance he got. Bennor could hardly let anyone think his brother had earned a medal that he hadn't.

He didn't have to worry about that tonight though. Bennor knocked at Tellot's door to see if he was ready and received no answer. After knocking again to no avail, Bennor peaked inside the room and found it empty.

"Oh, he hasn't been acting strange at all lately," he sneered.

"He's not there?" Marqesita asked. Tellot had made such a big deal about the ball she had assumed it was because he wanted to go. She'd even spoken of it with his doctor who'd given him permission to go as long as he refrained from dancing. It was strange that he'd disappear right before they were to leave.

"A man his size is hard to hide," Bennor said and invited Marqesita to take a look for herself.

She passed and suggested perhaps he'd left without them.

"Why? When has he ever made an early appearance? Why would he go without telling us?"

They were good questions that should be answered but Marqesita wanted to focus on something else that Bennor had said. "What do you mean he's been acting strangely lately? All I've seen of him, he's been in bed, resting up."

"You didn't see him the other night when your boyfriend and I caught him sneaking around the palace like a thief."

The boyfriend crack annoyed her more than she thought it would. It was how Bennor almost exclusively referred to Alucier so she should be used to it. Perhaps it stung because it could no longer be true.

"So you caught Tellot 'sneaking around like a thief' and you never thought to tell me?"

"I thought the Caeli would inform you. You speak more to him than you do me."

Now it was really starting to grate and Bennor wasn't even aware of what he was doing. He wasn't a good enough actor to pull off such a combination of snide and innocuous without snide winning over.

"He's been busy," she excused. "You, however, I see every damn day. If you think Tellot's up to something, we should discuss it. Because frankly I'm having a hard time picturing Tellot to up to anything besides harassing some handmaidens."

"It is difficult to picture but we did see him. He had some lame excuse about taking a walk for fresh air."

"It would get boring sitting in these rooms all day…"

"Oh, come on, Marqesita! You're ready to convict me of capital crimes and kick me out of the family on flimsy false evidence yet the second I suggest Tellot might be involved in something dubious, all you want to do is defend him! Have I really been that vile of a brother?"

She'd never expected an outburst like that from Bennor. A person had to have emotions to lose control of them.

No, that wasn't fair to him. He hadn't always been the cold, calculating weasel who was trying to oust her from succession. As a boy, he'd always been retentive to a fault and too eager to prove how smart he was but it wasn't until the military academy that those qualities started overshadowing a sense of humor and the desire to do right.

But the memory of a slightly obnoxious yet endearing young boy didn't change what the really obnoxious and aggravating young man was doing to her. "How would you describe a brother who's willing to exploit one of your worst memories? Who's willing to completely trash your reputation along with Father's to get what he wants?"

"It's…it's politics, Sita," he answered feebly. This was the second time he'd been accused of sacrificing his family's honor for personal gain. Tellot's accusation had caught him off guard and slipped through the chinks in his conscious to make him wonder if it was true. If not for that initial blow, he might have dismissed Marqesita outright. She, after all, would be doing the same if she challenged Tellot. She claimed though that that was the best for Egzardia. She would make a better ruler. She'd keep Parliament in check and the crown strong.

Bennor couldn't argue with any of those assertions. Tellot, ruling on his own, would be a disaster. Something had to be done to keep him off the throne. And Marqesita had said from the beginning she didn't like having to do it. When they'd discussed it, she'd insisted that they deal with it in private. Let Tellot know what they could do and then let him make the decision to remove himself from succession. Quick, clean and easy for all involved.

Bennor's plan could not be described so simply. He had no reason to remove Sita from succession other than he wanted it himself. She might be too liberal in a few matters, but overall, he agreed with her policies. His summit voting record proved this.

If she relented like they'd hoped Tellot would do without the formality of a challenge, Bennor still wouldn't call it clean. He knew about Tavas only because Marqesita had told him under the belief that he cared about what had happened to her. She'd trusted him with that just as she'd trusted him to keep Tellot's illegitimacy a secret unless their hand was forced.

An unfit ruler possibly getting the throne would be a forcing of their hand. A qualified ruler getting it forced nothing but Bennor's own ego.

"Gods, this is a mess," he muttered.

Marqesita nodded, her temper assuaged. "I know and getting it resolved is only going to be messier still, but I don't want us dragging any more dirt into it than necessary."

"It's a little too late for that, isn't it? Tellot's not giving in like we thought we would. He's infuriated that we would even think of sullying Father and Mother's names. The other night when I caught him, he tried to shame me into dropping the challenge."

"Seems to have worked a bit," Marqesita noted. She'd been puzzled as to why the usually combative Bennor had backed down with hardly any fight. It turned out Tellot had done the heavy hitting for her.

He wasn't quite that soft yet. "I can't let it work. King Tellot could spell the end of the e' Egzard's power. I think our parents would have preferred to have a minor posthumous scandal than for us to stand by and do nothing as Parliament wrests the country from the family that still lives. You don't sacrifice the future just to make the past look rosier."

No, they couldn't, Marqesita agreed. They had that one thing in common. They had another as well. Though she felt disgusted for being so calculating, she couldn't stop thinking that the weakness Tellot had exposed in Bennor would end up doing her the most good.

She checked her hair for a final time. A mindless evening of dancing and pleasurable company and no political maneuvering was exactly what she needed.

0-0-0-0

As the high society of Asturia and her distinguished guests prepared to celebrate the day of Eries' birth, there were a few people lurking about the palace that had much darker thoughts in mind. The Basramian had the decency to feel awful over it. The Cesarian, however, was in bright spirits. Somewhere, Tellot was feeling more wretched than the Basramian but part of the Cesarian's light mood was caused by the fact that Tellot wasn't around to spread the misery. Unlike Bennor and Marqesita, the Cesarian had no desire to find him nor any curiosity as to what he was up to.

He knew Tellot well. He was sure the big oaf was off sulking in his guilt, unable to show his face at the party out of fear out of what might happen and a childish sensibility that if he weren't around to see it, it wouldn't be so bad. The Cesarian knew Tellot didn't truly believe his reassurances that tonight would pass peaceably. They had been made for appearance's sake, nothing more than lies to soothe a guilty and gullible conscience.

The Cesarian himself had no such need to lie to himself. His belief that he was doing what was best for his country – and conveniently himself too – was unshakable. His compatriots could snivel and moan all they wanted. He would proceed with head held high and sleep the sleep of the innocent after everything came to an end tonight.

His mood was so positive that when the first few notes of music began drifting from the main ball room, he took a moment to listen, his fingers instinctively marking the beat.

The Basramian scoffed at the levity and left to join his countrymen without another word. In his haste to get away, he ignored where he was going and his feet got swept over by the broom of a handmaiden cleaning up the hall. She apologized profusely for her error but the Cesarian intervened and stated it was clearly his friend's fault.

"That's very kind of you," Irribeth said.

0-0-0-0

The time for the ball drew closer as did Meiden to Lord Ramkin's office. The Caeli he needed to see should already have been summoned there as well. Meiden heard a rush of footsteps and thought perhaps that was him, but the footsteps sounded too light.

Then there was the panting coming from the person doing the running; it was decidedly female.

"Sir, I'm glad I caught you," Irribeth said between taking gulps of air. "I saw you in the windows from across the courtyard and was afraid I'd lose track of you unless I hurried."

A rush of excitement filled Meiden. This had to be good. Irribeth wouldn't have sprinted across the courtyard, up a flight of steps and down a hall for nothing.

He had to be patient. To cover the sight of a handmaiden running full tilt straight towards him, he loudly chided Irribeth for running around like a fool and told her to calm down. She followed along with the ruse, apologizing profusely and claiming that she had an urgent message for someone. Nobody else in the halls seemed to be paying them any attention but Meiden had learned the importance of caution. One could never be too sure who was a harmless passerby or who was a spy. Irribeth was proof of that.

He subtly motioned with his hand towards Lord Ramkin's office. Irribeth picked up on the hint and stated her message was for Ramkin. Meiden was pleased to inform her that he was going there anyway, he might as well escort her so she didn't accidentally smack into anyone while she was sprinting through the halls.

They arrived before Alucier. Meiden wasted no time debriefing his spy.

No, she hadn't seen Tellot with the Cesarian. He'd gone off to the gardens around midday looking depressed.

Instead, she had seen one of the Basramian delegates meet with the Cesarian. They hadn't said much but they had mentioned a third party that was absent whom the Cesarian had described as an oaf.

_The description certainly fits, _Meiden thought. He dug a few more details out of Irribeth. The Basramian had been irritated while the Cesarian had seemed cheerful. They were clearly anticipating tonight and Irribeth was sure it wasn't because of the party.

It wasn't the rock solid proof he'd been hoping for but it was intriguing. During his brief alliance with the Cesarian, the man had made passing references to other partners. None of them had included a specific Basramian delegate, only that they'd be able to get Basram to do as they wished them to do because of the country's weak position at the summit. After dumping him, the Cesarian must have found a new friend to talk to.

Tellot's absence wasn't as convincing as his presence but Meiden would take it. Something was up with the Egzardian prince – something very big, important and dark to so adversely affect such a hedonist.

If it wasn't enough to convince Alucier to pursue Meiden's course of action, Meiden had Aston's writ in his pocket. One way or the other, Eries' Caeli was going to be following his orders.

That didn't mean Alucier would be happy about it. When he entered Lord Ramkin's office, he was not pleased to find Meiden there. The handmaiden was bothering him too. He'd seen her around the palace a lot lately, mostly around Eries' quarters. He hadn't thought much of it until he saw her standing by Meiden Fassa. That could not be a good sign.

Irribeth scurried out of the office before Alucier's scrutiny could make her any more nervous. He was looking at her like he recognized her. That wasn't a good sign either.

Alucier marked her departure by asking Meiden, "Friend of yours?"

"She was just cleaning the office when I got here."

Alucier looked around. Lord Ramkin liked to keep things simple. He had his desk, a few chairs and cabinet that displayed awards given to Caeli over the years. That was all that was in the room, not a single cleaning supply in sight. Irribeth hadn't been carrying any when she left.

"What was she cleaning with? Her skirt and sleeves?"

It had been an awful lie. Meiden didn't continue it. He had a piece of paper in his pocket that said he didn't need to. "She's a helper of mine. We were discussing her latest assignment."

"Does it have anything to do with her hanging around Eries' quarters?"

Meiden was impressed. He was sure no one had ever noticed Irribeth while she was on that particular mission. She'd even reported that Allen had almost knocked her over when he'd left Eries' quarters once and he hadn't questioned her at all.

"Well, no, not this assignment," Meiden admitted. "I honestly didn't think you'd catch her on that last one. One point for you, I suppose."

Alucier didn't have much use for points from Meiden. "I was her guard for years. I might have been reassigned but that doesn't mean I won't still keep an eye out for her."

"Of course," Meiden agreed blandly. It was as if the Caeli were looking to be antagonized by him. Handing over Aston's writ would only irritate him further but that way he could at least forgo the passive aggressive flattery. The Caeli dropping the veiled threats would be nice too.

"Let's just get down to why I summoned you here," Meiden began. He passed the writ to Alucier and began explaining his plans as he read over it. "I believe it best if we act as quietly as possible, using only your most trusted guards. If he knows we're on to him, he'll change plans immediately and with his type, you need to catch them in the act because he wouldn't have left a paper trail."

"You would know, huh?" Alucier mumbled. He was still trying to take in this new lead and the fact that it had been delivered by Meiden.

"You went through my office and all you came up with planted evidence."

Alucier looked up from the paper. "Did you just admit that there are crimes out there that you have committed but we won't ever get the evidence?"

Meiden smiled and made a gesture of passing his hand over his mouth to indicate that his lips were sealed.

_This is all good fun to him_, Alucier thought. His empathy for Eries and her years of struggle against the weasel instantly reached an all time high. "Let's just put that aside for now. Is there a reason why you waited until the absolute last minute to inform me that a man you had previously dismissed as incapable of even participating in a plan like this is actually the ringleader behind it?"

"I had to be sure."

Alucier reread the writ. There was hardly anything to it. The fake evidence against Meiden had been vastly more convincing then the precious few circumstantial tidbits spelled out in the writ. Of course, look where that he gotten him.

He was stuck with what he had. And what he had was an extremely flimsy case with Meiden Fassa as his temporary co-detective. "Okay, I'll get my best, most discreet men together. In the meantime, you're going to tell me everything – I mean everything – about your little Cesarian friend. If you hold back on me again-"

"I never held back on you in the first place," Meiden protested. "I truly had forgotten until…recently." He wouldn't admit it had been a few days ago because then he'd have to award Alucier another point. "But fine, I'll tell you the entire story on the way to the guard station."

Alucier motioned for Meiden to take the lead. He didn't like having to follow behind the merchant. The alternative – having the merchant lurking behind him – was even less appealing.

0-0-0-0-0

It had been a hard, brutal battle, but in the end the seamstresses prevailed. All of Eries' prim frowns of displeasure had not dissuaded the pack of women from bringing in her dress from somewhat loose to skintight. She'd even thrown in a snide comment about needing to breathe and all the seamstresses had done was point out that since the dress was backless, her breathing wasn't constricted in the least.

That had been a sticking point too. Eries had really tried arguing that but after having it pointed out for the tenth time that backless was the height of fashion these days and anything else would be a monstrous faux pas, Eries gave up. She was not in her element. If those seamstresses had been picking a fight over the taxation of their trade, then they would have been begging for mercy at the end of that fight. But they weren't so all Eries could do was silently plot to increase said taxation.

Another point in the seamstresses favor was that Eries looked damn good in that dress, if Eries would say so herself, which she wouldn't because Celena was still with her and she didn't want to give the girl an impression of vanity.

She would have shown some hypocrisy too considering the last dress she'd worn to a ball. There were some differences. The rich velvet of the former dress was able to pull off a different look than the silk of this one despite both fitting quite snuggly. It wasn't a matter of the color. Eries hadn't arranged for it to be the same; the seamstresses had decided. They'd been horrified at the idea of a woman as pale as her wearing anything other than a deep, saturated cool color. Sapphire blue was apparently the color that best fit the description.

Eries waited until the seamstresses were gone before allowing herself a quick twirl in the mirror. The dress barely moved. None of the fabric wanted to get too far away from her skin it seemed. She could move comfortably meaning dancing wouldn't be impossible. The dress just wouldn't bring as much attention to her as the first one with its free floating skirt. Or it would bring a different sort of attention altogether. She did another twirl.

Celena joined her, both to compliment Eries and to get in on that twirling action.

Celena's own dress was nigh unrecognizable now, having been shorn of the sleeves and all the bows that had been on it. The skirt had somehow grown in volume so that it flared as Celena mimicked Eries' twirl. Despite Celena being paler than Eries, the seamstresses had okayed the faded rose color of the dress, saying it gave the illusion of color in Celena's cheeks. Celena wasn't sure about this and brought her face close to the mirror to make sure.

"Nah," she concluded, "still looks like I've never seen the sun." She moved away from the mirror and started assessing Eries. ""You look pretty, though. I'm sure Allen will love it."

"That's hardly the point," Eries insisted though it sort of was the point entirely. She couldn't care less what anyone else at ball thought she looked like. She couldn't wait to hear his thoughts though.

"Wish I had brought Mother's jewelry with me. It would have matched that dress good too."

"Well, Celena," Eries corrected. Bad grammar aside, Eries agreed with her. It was just as well Celena had forgotten them. It had become a tradition for Eries to wear her earcuffs instead of other earrings to her birthday ball ever since Allen had given them to her. The thought brought back memories. Waiting for him to come back from Basram. Accidentally pelting him with fruit when he did. The sweet thrill of curiosity when he'd pressed the wrapped gift into her hand. The moonlit dance on the rooftops afterwards, when she had felt closest to Allen and the most hopeful for their future since she'd known him.

Then it had fallen apart only to come back together again stronger than it had ever been before.

Allen hadn't said a word about her gift all day, even when he'd given her good wishes for her next year. He'd gotten her something certainly. He was probably waiting for the best time to give it to her. When that time came, Eries thought she'd ask him to wait until after the party when they could go up to the roof again. Starting a new tradition seemed like the perfect thing to do.

0-0-0-0-0

"Once upon a time there was an Egzardian queen with the desire to buy more clothing than her entire country could ever wear in their lifetimes. To fulfill this desire, she needed to have a supplier of large means. A person that fit the description was our friendly Cesarian. This is all public knowledge."

Alucier nodded for Meiden to continue. He resisted the urge to throttle him until he came directly to the point. He knew Meiden was rambling because of the control it gave him. When he'd been interrogating the merchant, Meiden couldn't have spit words out fast enough to make him go away. But now, as long as he was in the dark, Alucier had no choice but to listen to every last word Meiden spoke no matter how many there were.

At least he had actually started talking about it. They'd walked all the way to the guard station without a word on the Cesarian. Then Meiden had waited to speak until after Alucier had sent everyone out with their orders on who to monitor and what to look for, even though he only had the vaguest notion of these things himself.

Once he finally started though, Meiden kept going. "There were quite a few things that went on beyond the public's knowledge however. One of these things was so secret that I only heard the vaguest of details about it in passing and was never given exact names but now that I recall the story and know more about Egzardia's royal family, I can fill in the blanks."

_Please do so. Now!_

Meiden took the scenic route to the heart of the story. First, he explained how he'd heard the story, which tied into why he'd remembered it when discussing the party invitations.

"I once bought the equipment for a printing press cheap off of a company in Egzardia that was going out of business. The main investor was a member of Egzardia's Parliament. Apparently, he was extremely annoyed that he wasn't going to make as much money from his investment as he had hoped, or any money at all for that matter. In his anger, he made the stupid assumption that he could bilk me on made up fees for the equipment to recoup his loss."

_Blood from a stone, _Alucier thought. Meiden used a similar expression to describe the futility of the parliament member's actions and was actually proud of himself.

"He wouldn't shut up though, no matter how obvious I made it that I wasn't going to pay him so in order to get the deal done and over with, I obtained a mediator of sorts."

"You mean some goon that roughed up the parliament guy until he agreed to your terms," Alucier translated.

Meiden was deeply offended. "Please, I operate much more cleanly than that. My mediator simply obtained some information that our parliament member did not wish to become widely known and mentioned the likelihood of my new press's first print run being that very same information if I did not get the press at the original agreed upon price."

"You know, blackmail's not really better than beating a guy up."

"Of course it is. A beating leaves physical evidence."

On one hand, learning more about how Meiden's mind worked was the scariest thing Alucier had ever faced – and that included leading troops into battle during the brief Zaibach war. On the other, if he could wrap his mind around another that was so twisted, he might get a better understanding of how the conspirators worked. Because clearly, and thankfully, these people thought in ways he never even considered.

"Anyway, it was my mediator who first told me about our Cesarian friend. Because he had done such a thorough job with the printing press, I offered him more work. A year later, with his help, I was able to push through that treaty with Egzardia that gave us favorable trade status."

"Wait," Alucier interrupted. "You mean _the_ trade treaty with Egzardia? The one that Eries went there to sign? The one that everybody worked really hard on and was supposed to benefit both countries and not a single merchant?"

"That would be the one. And really, other merchants did benefit from it. Perhaps not quite so much as I did, but money was made." Meiden's face assumed a pleased 'I screwed 'em good' expression as he recalled his maneuver.

Alucier decided not to tell Eries. If he did, he feared she would momentarily suspend the truce. A weasel would be the nicest thing she would call him. She might even leave physical evidence.

"So basically, you have a long history of blackmailing Egzardia's parliament," Alucier said. "Gee, I can't imagine why they would want to frame you for anything."

"If I'm right," Meiden countered, "they didn't frame me. The Cesarian did. You are right though. Part of the reason I didn't think of blaming the Cesarian was because it made so much sense that Parliament would have a grudge."

"What startling self-awareness you have."

"Know yourself, know your enemy," Meiden said with a grin.

Alucier felt an urge to bathe for week from how thick the slime coming off Meiden was. And he still hadn't gotten to the slimiest part. "Okay, so how does you blackmailing Parliament tie back to the Cesarian?"

"The negotiator didn't blackmail Parliament. He went straight to the king. I only heard about this after the fact because I like plausible deniability in case someone should get caught, but the negotiator had more of his helpful information on one of the king's sons." Meiden paused for dramatic effect. "On of them was involved, _intimately,_ with the daughter of a textile merchant who dealt a lot with the royal family. The necessary precautions weren't taken and suddenly the textile merchant was facing becoming a grandparent."

"Oh, good," Alucier sighed, "A sleazy scandal. Can I guess which one of the king's sons was involved in it?"

Meiden agreed it was obvious. "At the time, I hadn't paid enough attention to the Egzardian royal family to either know or care so when he didn't give me names, I didn't press him. I wouldn't have known Tellot e' Egzard if I had fallen over him."

Just to be sure, Alucier did the math in his head. Bennor was a few years younger than Marqesita and Marqesita was a few years older than Eries. Since this had taken place before the signing of the treaty – and he very well remembered that date because of the nasty bout of food poisoning he'd received from the party that celebrated the treaty – he placed Bennor at fourteen or fifteen at the time. He could have been a prodigy, Alucier supposed, but of all the things the surly prince was good at it, wooing women was probably very far down the list if it had managed to make it at all.

"Anyway," Meiden continued, "arrangements are made, no royal bastard is ever born and everything goes on as if it never happened. Or it did until this mess started up."

"It's an, uh…interesting…story. Unfortunately, it doesn't prove anything. Sure, your textile merchant is more deeply involved with the Egzardian royal family than we knew but that hardly proves he's this cold-blooded schemer. If it's all true, you'd think he'd want to keep Tellot off the throne for what happened."

"I think it proves he's not the timid mouse he pretended to be to me. Think about it, the man did business with Egzardia for years after this, quite profitable business too. I think he might have arranged a favorable treaty too out of those arrangements." Meiden paused, at last bothered by the dirty business they'd been discussing. Of course it the possibility that a rival merchant was outdoing him in the shady tricks department that had finally riled him. "Bastard! I bet that's how he got the contract for the military uniforms! I put a bid in on that contract too!"

"Oh, yeah, he might have almost killed Tellot and then framed two innocent people for the act, but now that you've said he undercut you on a business contract, I know he's evil for sure."

Meiden sneered at Alucier. It was small wonder the Caeli had gotten along so famously with Eries; she would have made the same petty comment to him.

He had gotten off track though. Past misdeeds were only proof that the Cesarian was capable of the plot going on in the present. The present concerns were much more pressing. He had to convince Alucier once and for all that his instincts were correct.

"Do you really believe the man I described to you during the interrogation is the same man who would profit off of his daughter's troubles?" Meiden asked.

"You did."

"Fine," Meiden conceded, "I let my grand vision for Asturia cloud my judgment and accept persons I should not have accepted at face value. That and I only just remembered that story and thus, didn't have all the information at hand as you do now. So quit being an argumentative twit and agree with me."

_Eries' friends are almost as bad as Eries_, Meiden thought. The one thing that made them better was the fact that Meiden had the writ on him, meaning he could turn 'quit being an argumentative twit' into a real order.

It wouldn't go that far. Alucier was much more professional than Meiden. He'd wait until later, when he was off duty and this mess had been cleaned up and he had friends around who enjoyed crafting a good insult, to vent his frustration. He picked his words carefully. "Okay, this merchant is a weasel. But how much of one? Would he really be willing to put Tellot on the throne after what he did?"

"If it suits his purposes."

Alucier didn't have to ask why Meiden was so certain. It takes a weasel to know a weasel. "So we think we have our guy. I have guards monitoring him. What do you need me personally for?"

"Oh, that," Meiden said absently. "We have an assassin we need to go talk to."

* * *

Next up: More partying as this chapter will likely spread out into three parts. I already have another segment as long as this written and it's not finished. Bleh…

Sorry about the delay! Had to run some emergency errands at work and accidentally left the disk with the only copy of this chapter on it on my desk. Thank god the boss didn't look at it. :P


	33. Thrill Me

Intrigues of a Princess

XXX: Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me – Part B

In the end, Millerna and Dryden had gone with an ice sculpture as the centerpiece for the ballroom. In their mercy, they'd ordered a replica of the palace instead of a giant bust of Eries. That was a relief to the birthday girl.

She studied the sculpture, impressed with the level of detail an artist could work into ice. All the windows, the brick work and even some shrubbery were represented. The thing was huge too, roughly the size of a child's playhouse. Eries had to walk around it to see the whole thing. When she came to the back, she noticed on a balcony a small figure – a literal ice princess waving a tiny icy hand at her subjects.

Celena noticed it too. "Hee, that's cute. For my next birthday, I'm definitely asking Allen for an ice version of our house with little ice Crusaders and everything."

Gaddes gave no reaction to the idea of being temporarily immortalized in ice. He was too busy pulling at his sleeves in a sad attempt to de-puff them. He'd thought dressing up to play butler at Allen's party had been the worst thing he'd ever have to wear. He'd been wrong – very wrong.

Thankfully, there weren't many people around to see him. The party wouldn't start for another half hour or so. The only ones in the ballroom now were palace staff members making last minute preparations and royalty making sure those preparations were right. Millerna had her hands full hashing out a song list that accommodated the palace band and the harpist Meiden had hired. Dryden wasn't so busy. He surveyed the food tables and decided to take a few samples just to make sure the appetizers were up to snuff.

Snacking, however, was not allowed. Dryden had barely finished chewing on a puff pastry when a cook came out and discovered his perfectly arranged platter was missing a piece. As the cook screamed demands for the culprit to identify himself, Dryden slinked over to the ice sculpture.

It was cooler over there, the large size of the sculpture causing the immediate area to drop a few degrees. Dryden expected Eries' attitude to match as she was pointing out her little ice effigy.

"Couldn't resist, could you?" she asked him.

"It's is your birthday," he pointed out. "Surely there should be some representation of you on the decorations."

"Very astute logic, Dryden. I'll keep that in mind when your birthday next comes around. I imagine that will be quite the affair as it will be your first as prince regent."

That was hardly a threat to Dryden. He kind of liked the idea of Asturia's royalty being represented as tiny ice people. "Just make sure they carve me wearing my robes instead of this ridiculous getup."

Just like Gaddes, Dryden had cleaned up considerably for the affair. The two men weren't dressed all that unalike. Both had on vests with ornate threadwork overtop the classic Asturian puffy shirt. Gaddes was lucky enough to only have to wear trousers; Dryden had been saddled with an overskirt.

"I really don't know how the Caeli move around in these things," Dryden said as he lifted a panel from the overskirt. "What do they do anyway?"

He would have asked a Caeli but none were around, including Allen. Gaddes had escorted Eries and Celena to the ballroom claiming that Allen had a last minute errand to run. Eries had a good idea as to what that errand could be. The wink Celena had given Gaddes basically confirmed it.

"They look neat if you spin around real fast," Celena offered. When Dryden, forming the bizarre mental picture of Allen twirling around in his head, asked her how she knew that, Celena confessed that she'd 'borrowed' Allen's once and had taken it for a spin. She demonstrated her technique.

A few spins nearly caused her to hit the ice sculpture, creating a brief scene in which all the cooks and musicians turned to stare and wonder exactly what was wrong with that weird girl. Eries shook her head, trying not to laugh. Dryden explained to everyone that Celena was trying out a new dance.

"It's all the rage in Basram," he swore.

Gaddes suggested that Celena sit down until the party started. Somewhat dizzy, she let herself be led away on a weaving path to the tables and chairs that had been set up in the back part of the ballroom.

"Maybe we could start a fad," Dryden kept joking. "Don't guests have to follow what the royals do anyway?"

"If you want to get the nobles of Gaea spinning around a dance floor that has a very large sculpture as a hazard right in the middle, be my guest. Just know that you will have to send out the formal apologies to all the foreign nations afterwards."

Dryden gave up. A few minutes of silly mischief were not worth the tedium of hours of royal paperwork.

When Millerna finished up with the band, she came over to join them. She too admired the mini-Eries and let on that it could have been a lot worse. "You should be thankful I talked him out of that painting he wanted to commission."

"Painting?" Eries asked against her better judgment.

"No, no," Dryden corrected, "It was a giant mosaic made from dried noodles."

Eries would not bite. There was no way he would even think of commission any such thing. Millerna was making for a poor accomplice too, still giggling as Dryden described the work of art.

"It would have been something. You see, you can get different colors by mixing different vegetables into the dough for the noodles. Of course, with your skin tone, they wouldn't have to add much to make the noodles look right."

"I see," Eries said coolly. "And I guess they would use some dark, somber colored root vegetable for my clothing."

"Clothing? Who said you would have been wearing clothes in the portrait?"

Millerna flushed as pink as the gown she was wearing. Eries nearly matched her. A key difference between them was that Millerna was doubled over laughing while Eries stared at Dryden in bright eyed horror. Millerna might have choked had a cook not signaled to her that he needed her to check the first course. She stumbled away laughing.

"I'm sorry," Dryden apologized immediately. "But as you can see, Millerna's seemed to have developed an appreciation of my sense of humor."

That was more understandable, more forgivable too. "And if you have something…"

"You might as well use it. Seriously though, I've seen some of these portraits. They're actually quite tasteful. Literally."

Eries, not as enamored with Dryden's humor as Millerna, rolled her eyes. She didn't have to endure his comedy for long. Soon, Asturian nobles started filtering into the ballroom and Eries had to leave so she could reappear later in a grand entrance.

She was taken to a staging room just off the ballroom where she kept company with other objects awaiting introduction, including a stack of presents and a large cake that would serve as dessert for the evening. The cake was covered in sugar flowers so it looked like one of the palace gardens. Since she was known for enjoying strolls through those gardens, flowers were the usual motif for her cakes. Taking a brief glance around to see if anyone was watching her, Eries plucked one of the flowers and had an early snack.

"You'll ruin your appetite," a voice by the door admonished.

"It's only a small flower," she replied. She picked another bloom in defiance and held it up to her lips without consuming it.

Allen shook his head at her bad behavior. "Honestly, I have to guard you from everything." He joined her by the cake and examined the patch from which she'd been eating. "At least they put so many of those flowers on there no one can tell you've been stealing."

"It's my cake, how can I be stealing from it?" Eries still hadn't eaten the second flower. She held it out coyly, as if she might allow Allen to put it back on.

He declined, saying he didn't think he could put it back with the same skill with which it had been applied. "Besides, who would want a flower that's gotten all warm and moist from your breath?"

"Well, if you can't think of anyone who'd want it…" The flower returned to its position by Eries' lips.

It didn't stay there for long. Allen leaned in, flashed Eries a smile and then ate the flower for her, his lips lingering over her fingertips for a moment before brushing briefly against her mouth. "I told you I have to guard you from everything."

"That really isn't going to discourage me from picking more flowers off the cake."

It had the opposite effect. Eries reached out to the cake but was stopped from retrieving another flower when a knock at the door caused her to jerk her hand in panic. It ran against the whole side of the cake, squishing and blending flowers into mush. It looked as if a small animal had tromped through that section of the garden.

"I think they're going to notice now," Allen observed.

Eries swatted at him with her frosting coated hand but missed as he had already moved to answer the door. He asked who was there while Eries did her best to relocate flowers from the more heavily decorated areas of the cake to cover up the damage.

"It's me!" Celena answered. "Guests are starting to arrive and for some reason, Gaddes thought it was a good idea for me to leave so Millerna and Dryden could greet them privately. I saw you come in and go to this room so I'd thought I'd wait with you."

Allen let her in. He wasn't the least bit puzzled as to why Gaddes would try to keep her away from foreign dignitaries.

True to tactless form, Celena started snickering when she saw the cake and didn't seem to be in a mood to stop anytime soon. "See, Allen! Other people play with their food too! Just look at Eries."

"It was an accident," Eries said. Technically true, but she never would have gotten to the point of having the side of one of her hands caked in frosting while she built up a good amount of pastel colored gunk under her fingernails from moving flowers around if she'd been behaving herself. That was the kind of situation Celena would get into.

It was also the kind of situation Celena could get out of. "Don't worry, Eries. Aelia makes these big, fancy desserts and I fix them up all the time after taking some nibbles."

"Celena…" Allen began to admonish. Eries cut him off. Cake first. Discipline later.

Celena went to work, delicately lifting and replacing flowers. She discarded a few by eating them, muttering about the aesthetic importance of balance. She knew what she was talking about. The cake was less busy when she was finished, giving it a more elegant appearance over all. Only the bakers would be able to tell anyone had tampered with it.

There was one last task to finish. Celena rummaged around for a bowl and upon failing to discover a source of water in the room, announced she'd be right back.

Allen took a good, long look at the cake. "She was surprisingly competent fixing this," he noted.

"She is always playing with her food and she does have an artistic touch."

"She knew exactly what to do and did it neatly and efficiently."

"She has her moments, I suppose."

Allen switched from studying the cake to studying Eries. She had a feeling that Allen was beginning to realize Celena's 'moments' came more frequently and lasted a great deal longer than the girl let on. Eventually, he'd know for certain. Eries hoped that would come about sooner rather than later with Celena confessing instead of slipping up. She believed the secret harmless, which was why she kept it, but Allen would be hurt if his sister kept the truth from him for too long.

Celena wasn't keeping the clues in short supply. When she returned, the bowl was half full of sudsy water. She instructed Eries to wash vigorously and to make sure she checked her fingernails. "Fingernail dirt is a dead giveaway," she said.

"Do I even want to know how often you've been stealing dessert and covering it up?" Allen asked.

"Stealing?" Celena's logic was uncomfortably close to Eries'. "Aelia makes those desserts for us. I was just going to eat it later anyway. It's like I'm taking a sample."

Outnumbered by dessert thieves, Allen gave up. "Fine, do as you will. If anybody asks about the cake though…"

"I'll say I did it," Celena volunteered. "Gotta protect the princess' image."

"That's very kind of you," the now clean Eries said.

Celena winked at her. "Girls have to keep their secrets, don't they?"

0-0-0-0-0

Celena could have taken longer with the cake repairs. Due to the extremely high number of dignitaries and the Asturian tradition that each party must receive its own formal introduction, Eries was stuck waiting in the side room with Allen and Celena for almost an hour before a page appeared to tell her to get ready.

"I've been ready," she muttered.

Allen escorted her to the ballroom entrance but lingered behind the doors. This was Eries' party; she'd enter alone. Her name was announced to mild applause, Eries plastered a smile across her face, the doors swept fully open and then the real applause began. Eries entered the room, waving to the party guests a la her ice counterpart and taking care not to trip over the silk runner that had been placed over her path so her dainty royal feet wouldn't touch the common palace floor. She should have known the ice sculpture wasn't the only joke Dryden would work into the decorations.

He was playing innocent, standing at the front of the royal hall beside Millerna. Eries would have worked in a special look just for him except for the shock caused by seeing the other man standing beside her sister. King Grava Aston was standing with his family, his wheelchair out of sight.

Eries' smile wasn't fake anymore.

Her father was holding up well with no sign of fatigue. Eries didn't know if that was because he wasn't tired or if he was really good at faking it but she wasn't going to take any chances. She quickened her pace down the silk path. When she reached her family, she turned to the crowd to give thanks for their attendance and set the party rolling. All the guests were soon distracted by the palace staff sweeping through the ballroom to serve dinner.

The royal family moved to its private table, Millerna walking hand in hand with her father to an outside observer, father clutching onto daughter's arm for support if you looked closely. Aston let out an audible sigh when he finally sat down. Millerna subtly rubbed her arm.

Aston looked at Eries as if challenging her to admonish him for overexerting himself. She didn't.

"How long have you been planning that present?" she asked him instead.

"A few weeks. I've been taking extra exercise, letting the doctors work me over."

"To me, it was worth the effort," Eries said.

"Then it was worth it to me as well." Aston smiled cockily and added, "Too bad you missed the look on the nobles' face when they saw their crippled old king standing up in front of them. The gossip mill's going to be working overtime tonight."

"Heh, the last I heard," Dryden said, "you were bedridden and helpless and the only reason I came back was because you were about to keel over."

"Dryden!" Millerna cried.

Aston wasn't mad at his son-in-law. He'd heard that gossip before too. Proving it wrong had been a powerful motivator. "I can't wait to hear the next round of news. I'm thinking something along the lines of a bizarre medical cure from a foreign land or I was healed by Jichia."

Dryden suggested that another good story would be that his illness had been a curse inflicted upon him by an evil witch. Aston topped the outlandish notion with a good witch from the Mystic Moon being the source of the counter-curse.

While the men indulged their gallows humor, Eries asked Millerna how much she had known of their father's progress.

"Not much," she said. "I think he wanted to surprise me too."

The palace staff brought their meals to them and they settled into more suitable dinner party talk. This consisted mostly of generating their own gossip about the guests. Each country's delegates had a designated table which were interspersed with the tables of the Asturian nobility. This was supposed to show how welcome the foreign visitors were while giving them no shortage of people to talk to. In reality, Dryden had planned it that way so the nobility could keep them entertained so he didn't have to.

It also allowed for a good buffer between the table of the royal family and everybody else, leaving the Astons free to talk.

Aston started with questions to Eries and Dryden about each of the delegates. He mainly wanted to know who seemed to be siding with Asturia and who wasn't.

"I think we've got Egzardia, Fanelia and Freid sewn up," Dryden said with a wink to Eries.

The wink didn't get by Aston. "As I expected with Eries'…_political skills_. I was worried about Freid though."

"Of course Chid would side would us," Millerna said. "We're his family."

"I think Father was more worried about Nuri en Freid," Eries covered quickly.

But Aston wouldn't take it. "No, I wasn't. Our sins against Freid are still fresh. Chid lost his father to them. An adult might realize the political expediency of what we did, but a child…"

"Chid seems smart to me. I'm sure he gets it," Dryden offered.

Millerna nodded her agreement. Eries stared at the table.

Aston frowned and put down his utensils. His appetite was gone. "Oh, I'm sure it's been explained to him and if asked, he could give the correct answer why but knowing, understanding and accepting can be very different things."

"I think you're overreacting," Millerna insisted. "He's been nothing but warm and friendly to us since he arrived. He's not avoiding us. He's actually asked to spend more time with us."

"Us? Who would that be exactly?"

Millerna blanked at her father's question. Chid's request to spend more time with his family had centered upon his aunts. He had asked about his grandfather on the day they went to Marlene's tomb. He hadn't asked since.

Sensing Millerna wasn't going to answer, Dryden tried for her. "He knows you're sick. Maybe he doesn't want to bother you. And let's face, sick, old guys aren't exactly a little kid's most favorite people to hang around. Jichia knows when my grandfather got that flu and Mom dragged us all out to see him, I spent the entire time wanting to leave. He had this nasty cough, like he was gargling on rocks and he'd hock up these gobs of yellowish-"

"Dryden," Eries interrupted, "I know you mean well but please shut up. This is supposed to be a nice dinner party. Do we really need to drag out family wounds and stories of elderly men's phlegm?"

"Eries always did get queasy hearing about bodily fluids," Millerna explained to Dryden. He knew this already but he wasn't going to complain about his wife's attempt to make him feel better.

He was the only one getting Millerna's consolation. She was not going to let Eries shut down this discussion and she was not going to let Aston stew in his guilt. "I'm sorry, Eries, but this isn't something we should ignore. The longer it goes on, the worse it will get."

Dryden politely did not mention that his grandfather had the same problem with his cough.

"Maybe Chid could be angry at you," Millerna continued. "Or maybe he isn't and he's wondering why his grandfather is avoiding him. That could be why he isn't asking about you. Because he thinks you don't want to see him."

"That's-" Aston started.

"-Plausible," Eries interrupted. If Millerna wasn't going to drop this, Eries would at least see it to its proper conclusion. "With Chid being so precocious, it's hard to gauge what his reactions will be but in this case, I think Millerna may be right. He is a child. It would be perfectly understandable for him to act that way."

Aston wasn't buying it. He'd felt far too much guilt over Freid's invasion to let himself buy it. Fortunately for him, he had two highly determined daughters – one of whom had read a bookcase full of psychology books and the other who was doing a good impersonation of someone who had. They were tag-teaming him, one reeling off a thought and the other backing it up and expanding it.

"You ought to seek Chid out just to reassure him you aren't trying to exclude him."

"Children are really sensitive to these things. He's already lost so much of his family."

"Letting the guilt over whatever hand you might have had in that alienate Chid will only cause more guilt."

"Maybe that's what he wants, to feel even worse."

"Then that's all the more reason to settle things with Chid. A never ending cycle of guilt…"

Aston tuned his daughters out. He took relief in seeing that Dryden seemed befuddled by the dueling would-be psychologists. "Guess you're not so happy that you married into this family now," he joked.

"Nah, I'm still happy," Dryden said. "Maybe not as much, but still…"

0-0-0-0-0

The table set aside for the Caeli was in its traditional spot of to the right of the royal family's. None of the Caeli overheard any of the Astons' issues. They were occupied with their own usual talk of sword fighting, honor and all that other crap.

'All that other crap' was Celena's choice of phrase. Allen had tried shooing her away, claiming there was only space for twelve at the table but Alucier was being a conspicuous no-show, leaving one seat empty. Gaddes had gotten swept up in the crowd and since trying to find him would be more attention getting than just letting Celena sit near him, Allen had hesitated long enough for Lord Ramkin to come over and invite Celena to sit with them.

Revius had noted the old knight seemed to have a weakness for the air of sweet innocence Celena projected. "First you conned him into taking you to the royal box at the tournament and now you're sticking out like a sore thumb here."

Celena responded by sticking out her tongue.

"Celena…" Allen sighed. The usual dinner antics were not going to fly tonight.

"He started it."

"Then be a lady and don't finish it."

"Fine, fine," she groused.

"I was only paying a compliment to your persuasive skills anyway," Revius said, not entirely convincingly. "Maybe we ought to get you to talk to Lord Ramkin about his successor."

"Where is Alucier anyway?" Allen asked. It was never like him to be late to anything Order related. Missing Eries' birthday party on top of that was a clear indication something was wrong.

"No idea. I saw him earlier headed toward the guard station with the lovely Meiden Fassa in tow. Can't imagine why he'd want to hang around him for too long – unless his gift to Eries is to make Fassa go away forever."

"Getting rid of creepy merchant man would be a gift to us all," Celena chirped. Allen sighed again.

"Celena, it isn't proper to talk that way of our superiors."

"It's not like he's here," Celena argued.

Allen looked around. Meiden _wasn't_ here. His spot at the council's table was unoccupied. "When did you see Alucier and Meiden together, Revius?"

"I'm starting to rethink that timeline myself. You know, it might be a good time to excuse ourselves. Dessert still hasn't been served."

"Excuse yourselves?" Celena asked but they weren't listening. Allen gracefully slid out of his seat and approached Lord Ramkin. He whispered something into his ear that caused Ramkin to respond by pointing at Revius and indicating that he and Allen should leave by a side door.

Allen motioned to Celena to stay put, which she did for all of one minute before throwing her napkin on her plate and announcing she had an emergency.

"Girl type stuff," she declared before slinking off in pursuit of her brother. The Caeli that heard her nodded awkwardly. 'Girl type stuff' was one subject they never discussed.

0-0-0-0

The Schezars and Revius weren't the only ones to notice Alucier's absence. Though she had been avoiding him to delay the inevitable, Marqesita had anticipated him being here. A nice party like this wouldn't be the place to go into the messy details. That would be saved for later while they had one last night to pretend.

She'd been hoping for that and it looked like she wasn't going to get even that.

Her dinner company wasn't up to the task of distracting her. They tried though, tried their talkative little hearts out. She and Bennor had been seated with the chattiest nobility Asturia had to offer. Lord and Lady Something or Other. Marqesita, too busy scanning the part of the ballroom that contained the Caeli table, hadn't been listening that well when she'd been seated. It would be rude to ask them who the heck they were now.

She couldn't ask Bennor either. He was paying as much attention as she was. Marqesita was doing slightly better in that she wasn't muttering about Tellot while using a napkin to enact the scribbling of mental notes. Had Bennor actually had a pen in hand, the napkin would have been coated in ink several times over.

Marqesita only looked bored. Bennor looked like he'd missed his medication and the doctors would be along for him shortly.

Lord and Lady Chats-a-lot hardly noticed. They were lost mid-story in the recounting of the birthday gala they'd thrown for their youngest daughter earlier this year. Marqesita chuckled when they did and asked them to do go on.

Then she promptly shut them out again to talk to Bennor. She leaned in and whispered, "Did something happen during the walk from our quarters to here that made you go completely insane."

"Tellot isn't here."

"You think he's sneaking around again?"

"What else does he have to do tonight?"

Marqesita almost asked him what the invisible ink on his napkin said but bit her tongue. "I don't know, but I suppose you have a few ideas."

"Several." Bennor didn't elaborate. He was too interested in watching Allen and Revius steal away from the party. He and Marqesita watched, unsure what it could mean. They decided to find out when Celena got up and left too.

"If she can go, so can I," Marqesita said.

"Let's go."

He was half out of his seat when Marqesita shook her head. "We both can't leave, at least not at the same time."

"And I suppose you think you're the one that should go?"

"Are you friends with them?"

Bennor sat back down. It would be conspicuous for both to leave and no, he wasn't chummy with those that had already departed.

"Tell me everything," Bennor insisted.

He insisted too loudly. His tablemates took it as a command to tell Bennor about their anniversary party. It had been a big party. There was so much to go over.

Marqesita, grinning slightly, excused herself. Bennor, wincing slightly, returned to his napkin.

0-0-0-0-0

Guests routinely came and went from these parties. Stuff people with enough food and drink and eventually certain facilities must get used. It seemed rather early though and the particular people who were leaving raised an alarm in Nuri. Over at the royal table, Eries was involved in a deep discussion with her family and apparently didn't notice. Nuri found Fanelia's table next. Van's eyes met his briefly and with a nod, indicated he thought something was up. Nuri gestured towards the exit, but Van nodded no. He mouthed a name, 'Allen', and then nodded yes. Nuri took it to mean Fanel was going to rely on Schezar to take care of things.

He wasn't surprised. The two men had fought together numerous times, relying on the other to watch his back. Nuri saw no reason why he shouldn't extend the same level of trust to Schezar. Under normal circumstances, most anyone, including non-Asturians, would have no trouble depending upon a Caeli. But Nuri had had a dark feeling building since the summit had broken earlier today. None of the circumstances tonight, he feared, were going to be anywhere near normal.

0-0-0-0-0

Tellot could hear the music from the ballroom in the corner of the palace garden he'd sequestered himself to. The smell of the food drifted in on the breeze as well. He didn't budge.

He didn't want to be anywhere near what was happening tonight for one thing. For another, he really didn't think he had it in him to face any more questions from Bennor, especially not with Marqesita watching. He was so close to spilling out his secrets. The slightest push would send him over the edge.

Coming clean did hold its temptations. He would lose the throne for sure, but that also meant that Egzardia's throne wasn't built upon lies and conspiracies. He was a nervous wreck now. If he had to spend day after day knowing how he'd gotten the crown…

His father, and he considered the late king his father no matter biology said, had always told him the weight of the crown was heavy. A king not only had his conscience to mind, but the conscience of the entire country. He had to be strong, resolute. Doubts only existed to be conquered so that the king could grow stronger still.

There were times, when his guilt gnawed at him the sharpest, that Tellot felt if he could get through this, he'd be the strongest king Egzardia had ever seen. The times with his guilt were increasing in frequency; the 'if' however, was growing larger and more insurmountable.

What kind of a king would he make? Relying on others to get what he wanted and then cowering alone so he wouldn't have to face what that required. His plan for rule included relying on Parliament, relying on Bennor and Marqesita. What would he even be there for?

Tellot leaned against the brick wall that surrounded the garden. He looked up to the moons, breathed in the cool night air.

_If I could get through this…_

_Father, what would you have done?_

He knew the answer, felt it deep inside all jumbled up with his doubts and guilt. He kept it hidden there where he wouldn't have to think of it. But he couldn't do that anymore. A strong king would face it, take it and all of its consequences on.

Tellot stood up straight. He no longer looked to the moons but to the ballroom that he knew he must enter.

He was going to fix this.

0-0-0-0-0

Eries didn't notice that a quarter of the Caeli were missing until Lord Ramkin rose to give her a toast. As deep as her family had been engrossed in their argument, the palace could have fallen down around them and they would have kept on going.

She and Millerna had made inroads with their father to the point that he was going to request that Chid join them at the table later. It might have been nicer for him to go to Chid instead, but Aston had had the incontrovertible excuse of his health to nix that. He'd stood a good long time waiting for Eries to come out and he still had the rest of the evening to get through.

So Eries had been pleased when Lord Ramkin had started talking. By the end of his speech, she was worried. Three Caeli don't go missing for no reason – those three Caeli for this particular event especially. There was little she could do however. With dinner nearly over, the dancing was to begin. As the birthday girl, she would be the center of attention for the first dance.

She had to wait and wonder. Both were made worse when Eries glanced at Egzardia's table and noticed Marqesita's absence. Something was definitely up.

She tried catching Bennor's attention but he was so engrossed in ignoring his tablemates, he ignored everything else around him too. She did manage to catch Nuri's eye. So far across the room from her, they couldn't communicate anything but a nod that could be interpreted as anything. Eries decided that after the first dance, she was going to be the emissary to invite Chid to join her family's table.

Traditionally, she took the first dance with her father. While his spirit was willing, Aston knew his flesh was too weak to even think about attempting it. It fell to her new brother-in-law instead. They waited until Lord Poniard made a brief speech thanking everyone for their attendance. That was the signal for the music to start in earnest. With more grace then his usual attire and demeanor suggested, Dryden rose and took Eries' hand to lead her to the dance floor for a waltz.

"Haven't been dancing since my wedding," he remarked.

"Let's hope this party is significantly more low key than your reception."

"Kind of hard to top it," he laughed.

The crowd couldn't hear the grim humor and assumed Dryden's cheer was merely a reflection of the gaiety of the moment. They laughed along without knowing what they were laughing at, which made Dryden even more amused.

"We could be up here whispering about eating babies and as long as we did it with big smiles on our faces, they would love it."

"If you insist on that being the topic of conversation, I assure you I won't have a 'big smile' on my face."

"Really? I hear they're quite delicious with a dash of spice."

They came to part of the waltz where the female circles around her partner as he stands still. Eries took the opportunity to nudge Dryden's foot. It wasn't a full on kick. She had spectators and he'd only been joking.

He took the hint, sort of. "Still kind of moody over all the Chid stuff?"

They began moving in wide circles across the ballroom floor. It became difficult to keep speaking in low whispers while still being heard but Eries was reluctant to say what was truly bothering her too loudly. "Some people aren't here," she said tersely.

As they finished that stage of the waltz, Dryden took note of who and who wasn't in the crowd. He'd already found it odd that after winning his freedom, his father hadn't bothered to show. When he added in all of Eries' Caeli friends and Marqesita, it did seem suspicious. He couldn't picture his father working with any of the others, though about the only thing predictable about Meiden was that he could do anything.

When their dance finished, there was already a partner waiting for Eries. It had drawn some murmurs from the crowd and a look of utter befuddlement from Kaja, but Nuri had crossed the ballroom to ask for the next dance. Eries would have been confused herself if she hadn't known what Nuri was really after.

He didn't waste time. Two steps into the dance, he asked where their missing friends had gone.

"I would like to know for myself," she answered.

Nuri could see she was frustrated. He could sneak out for a moment. She, however, was trapped. An Asturian had called the third dance. The fourth was claimed soon after.

"Perhaps I shall check and get back to you at another dance?" Nuri volunteered.

Eries accepted. It was the best she could do for now.

0-0-0-0-0

Three Caeli, a wealthy merchant, a princess and a young woman walked into a room. If it were up to two of the Caeli, the princess and young woman would walk right back to the ballroom. The third Caeli and the wealthy merchant were leaning towards letting the women stay. They believed that they should go, but the women were doing a much better job of out-shouting the men and letting them win seemed to be the best way to get some relative quiet.

"When trying to track a stealthy enemy, the best thing to do is to make so much noise that the entire palace can figure out where you are," Revius remarked.

"I certainly found it helpful in locating you," Nuri announced.

The four bickerers paid little attention to his arrival. The bickering slowed for a moment then resumed at the same volume. Revius thought at least one pair ought to shut up for efficiency's sake because Allen and Celena were having the exact same argument as Alucier and Marqesita with only a few words difference. The other words were 'it isn't safe' and 'you're being overprotective' repeated over and over again.

Meiden debated if it was too late to ditch this pack and hire private security. Nuri wondered if it would be too un-monklike to demand silence.

Eventually, the bickering stopped as three of them realized how counterproductive the arguing was the fourth didn't think it was any fun to argue with herself. No one conceded any points though.

"You both have to go back," Alucier said. "If not for your safety, than for appearances. We believe something is going to happen tonight and our best chance of catching these people is to catch them in action. That would be hard to do if they call off their plans because it's blatantly obvious that we're on to them."

"So we're just supposed to cower in the ballroom like the dainty girls that were are?" Marqesita countered.

Alucier wasn't touching that one with a ten foot sword. Luckily, he had Revius, Master of No Tact, by his side.

"Yes," Revius said. "The delicate flowers will get their butts back to the ballroom. You can bitch about us once you're safe and sound."

Neither Marqesita nor Celena had ever heard Revius use his serious voice but they knew it when they heard it. The men weren't going to budge. Any attempt to push them would suck up valuable time.

"Fine, if that's what you insist," Marqesita sighed.

Celena, ready to back her up with great enthusiasm, had to stop mid-fist pump and ask, "What?"

"They're right, Celena. No one cares where a bunch of swordsmen are. I, however, will be missed. And if this situation should evolve into violence, it would be better if they had only themselves to mind."

The quick capitulation all but screamed 'ulterior motive'. They all took Marqesita at face value though. They'd start arguing again otherwise.

Celena was the only one with any fight in her. It didn't do her any good. Marqesita had grabbed her and was pulling her back towards the ballroom before she could give voice to any of that fighting spirit.

"That was too easy, you know," Alucier said.

"Yeah, we know," Revius answered. "Maybe one of us ought to follow a little distance behind just to make sure?"

Meiden threw up his arms. Everyone was bound and determined to screw this up worrying about this spoiled princess or that. "Do you all not remember that we're trying to catch possible assassins?"

Nuri stared at Meiden, his curiosity peaked.

"We know exactly what we're doing," Alucier said. "Which is why I don't want those two wondering around alone. You should go back too," he added for Nuri.

"Have we not spoken of the warrior spirit of the monk before?"

They had. Time would not allow for a reprise of that lecture and that pesky warrior spirit would not allow for an easy defeat. "Fine, you can come with us."

Allen volunteered to go after the women. He left without getting an answer as to whether that was acceptable to the others.

"Good," Meiden said. "Let's get down to business."

0-0-0-0

"I don't think this is the way we came."

"Hmm, did you say something, Celena?" Marqesita wasn't listening to her companion. Her concentration was on trying to remember the palace layout and deciding which places might be the best areas for those long walks Tellot had been taking. If, on the off chance that Bennor was right and Tellot knew more than they ever could have suspected, tracking him down for a nice sister to brother chat was a good idea. Even if Bennor was wrong, she was getting worried about Tellot anyway. She had to find him one way or the other.

"Where are we going?" Celena asked. "We should have been back at the ballroom already."

"If you want to go…"

"You mean you're not?"

Marqesita glanced over her shoulder and gave Celena a wink. If the girl understood her, Marqesita would let her stay with her. If she was as dim as she acted and didn't understand, Marqesita was shipping her back to the ballroom post haste.

"So who are we looking for? I noticed your other brother wasn't at Eries' dinner. Are we trying to find him?"

"You understand a little too well, don't you," Marqesita muttered.

"Huh? I just guessed."

Marqesita wasn't sure where that placed Celena on the understanding scale. She was getting ready to send her back just in case when suddenly, it was too late.

"Sita?"

Tellot came running towards them. He looked awful. He was sweating profusely and not from the effort of running. Dark circles were under his eyes as he looked at Marqesita sheepishly.

"We have to talk," he said. "But you should get inside where it's safe. I know he's going to do something awful tonight."

"Who is he?" Marqesita asked. Tellot wouldn't answer. He just kept insisting she go inside, growing nervous and sweatier each second she didn't.

He nearly jumped when Allen appeared from behind a pillar in the hall. He'd been shadowing the two ladies in the belief that Marqesita had set off with a plan in mind. It looked as if both his and hers had paid off.

"I think Tellot's right. The four of us are going to find a room to sit down in and we're going to have that talk."

"No, just Sita," Tellot protested. He wanted his shame to be as contained as possible. Marqesita had been so nice to him recently. She'd understand. She'd be able to explain to everybody else in a way that didn't make him look so bad.

But Allen wasn't allowing it. "You said 'I know he's going to do something awful tonight'. We don't have time to argue. I need to know who you're talking about and what he's going to do."

Marqesita nodded at Tellot for him to go ahead. She looked anxious, as if curious to learn what Tellot knew while at the same time not wanting to hear it.

This was his chance. He shouldn't wait. He'd decided to fix this. If he stumbled now, that could mean more to fix later. How much deeper could he dig himself before there was no way out?

"I don't know what he's up to," Tellot began. "He wouldn't tell me. He promised me no one would get hurt but I don't think he's telling the truth. He's never kept me out of the plan before and he knows that I wouldn't go through with it if it meant somebody got hurt…"

"Gods, Tellot," Marqesita said, her worst doubts starting to prove true, "What have you done?"

"I didn't mean for it to go this far. I didn't mean…" And then Tellot dissolved into blubbering, sobs punctuating the details of the Cesarian's plans. Names and dreams and foolish sins poured from him as if he couldn't purge them quickly enough.

His audience stood in stunned confusion. Allen placed a protective arm around Celena's shoulder. The gesture wouldn't stop her from hearing of the horrible men and the horrible deeds in this world, but he wanted to give her a reminder that there was still good as well.

The e' Egzards could draw no such comfort from each other. When Tellot was finally through, he clutched at Marqesita's hand, begging – for understanding, for a lecture, for forgiveness, for anything – but her hand remained limp in his as she tried to process all that had been done.

"Sita, please…"

"How…you let Bennor take the blame…you used…"

Allen wanted to give the two the time and space they would need to sort this out. He didn't have that luxury. The ballroom was full of delegates, two conspirators and the gods only knew how many assassins.

"Eries," he whispered in panic. This was her ball. What bigger way to stir fear into the summit?

He couldn't leave anyone here. Tellot had too much information and now that he was talking, would be in real danger.

He barked the orders quickly. They were to follow him and not say another word until they returned to the ballroom. Once there, he could place them under the protective care of the other Caeli and have messengers sent to find Alucier and Revius. Meiden had been right after all though Allen still didn't know what the merchant was up to.

It didn't matter. They'd piece all the evidence together later. The priority was stopping any further crimes from occurring.

They sprinted back towards the ballroom. The women in a state of confusion as Marqesita searched for an answer and Celena realized she was not as clever as she thought she'd been. She hoped she'd never be as clever as those who'd done this. The two men thought of forgiveness – Tellot despairing that he'd ever find and Allen knowing he'd give any to himself should anything happen to Eries.

0-0-0-0

Eries watched in increasing apprehension as the man with the knife came towards her. All eyes in the ballroom were on her but she would not lose her composure. Even if the baker noticed the damage done to the cake, he wouldn't make a scene. There wasn't any evidence to implicate her either. She made a cursory check of her fingernails just in case.

The baker did pause. Other members of the kitchen staff had brought the cake into the ballroom so this was his first time seeing it since he'd finished it. Somebody had gone on a pruning spree through the abundance of his beautiful wildflower patches. He was less offended as a master baker whose work had been damaged than he was worried that the cake wouldn't live up to the princess's high standards.

He forged on with the presentation of the cake, which Eries accepted with her usual comments of how beautiful and realistic the flowers were and then the cake was sliced into pieces and torn asunder.

Back at the royal table, Aston led the traditional toast, reciting the lines wishing that this cake would nourish her heart and mind in the coming year and other stuff about how she brought similar enrichment to the lives of those around her. Eries always wondered why these homilies were said over a food that was loaded with butter and sugar and inherently bad for you.

She took a small chunk from her plate and received a round of applause. This always amused her too, people applauding her ability to chew and shallow. True, she was a princess chewing and swallowing but she suspected the claps had more to do with the fact that the faster she ate, the sooner they would.

Chid sat with them now. That hadn't taken near the convincing that her father had feared it would. Eries had approached Chid, asked if he would like to sit with his aunts and grandfather and the boy had shot up, only remembering to ask Kaja if it would be appropriate after he'd taken several steps towards the table.

He was truly enjoying himself. Freidians weren't big on having large parties where everybody danced and gorged themselves on rich food. This was only the second time he'd been to a proper Asturian ball, the first being at the opening of the summit. At that party, he was still getting settled and was worried about his role in the upcoming politics. This time, he could relax completely. There hadn't been a giant, flowery cake at the first party either. Chid seemed very eager to give it a taste.

Eries let him have the rest of her piece. She was full from dinner and knew there'd be even more desserts to come. Pacing yourself was an important part of these evenings.

That was a lesson Millerna was determined to instill in Aston. She'd kept a close eye on everything he'd eaten so far and when the servers approached him with his slice of cake, Millerna shooed them away.

"It's a special day," he said irritably.

"You want to be around for the next special day, don't you?" she answered. Her words might have had more of an impact if she hadn't been scoping up a big chunk of cake with her fork as she spoke. Sensing this, she added that if he only had a little bit, it would be all right.

"He can have what's left of this," Chid offered, re-gifting Eries' piece. Another server had plunked down a bigger, more frosting coated piece in front of him anyway.

Millerna let her father have the leftovers, even passed it to him. It was a small treat and it proved her point about Chid. She motioned at Aston to use this as an opportunity to speak to Chid. Aston shook his head no. Millerna shook yes and made another gesture to Eries to have her join in on the positive head shaking. Chid, attention thoroughly on his rare, rich dessert missed the gesticulations going on around him. Dryden thought this was for the best. Aston and his daughters looked ridiculous enough. They didn't need to drag Chid into it. Dryden never would have been able to keep a straight face if that happened.

The two to one odds finally wore Aston down. He waited the few seconds it took for Chid to finish devouring his cake to say, "The monks have certainly taught you to be generous."

"It is a vital part of a monk's duty to look after his fellow man," Chid replied, as if reciting part of a lesson. He'd had other lessons that spoke of maintaining spiritual health via one's physical health but that didn't stop him from asking if it would be all right if he had another piece of cake.

"Anything you wish." Aston raised a hand to summon a server and almost instantly, he had Chid's second piece as well as a third and a fourth. The palace staff tended to be overzealous in their service to the king.

Chid checked to see if Kaja was watching before accepting all three plates.

"See, kid," Dryden said. "We're the laid back side of the family. Just ask and we'll spoil you rotten."

"Literally," Millerna sighed, "if he really plans on eating all of that."

"Uh, oh, the Nutrition Police have spoken."

Millerna gave Dryden a playful smack. "He's not used to eating such rich foods. He'll get sick if he eats too much."

Chid was of the belief that it would be worth it. These past few weeks of eating mostly Asturian fare had given him a pallet for the food of his mother's homeland. And since he was part Asturian, it would make sense if he added some of those foods to his diets even after he returned to Freid. That was what he was going to argue to Kaja at least.

He did need to exercise some restraint though. He agreed with his aunt that four pieces was pushing it and offered Eries more than she had given away.

She couldn't resist those big, bright eyes, thinking sadly that there must be something special about that Schezar shade of blue.

"There we go," Dryden said. "One big, happy family, growing even bigger with each bite."

"You never stop," Millerna said.

"Just ask me to."

But she didn't.

Watching his family together, Aston felt as if Dryden's jest had still been true. He hadn't said much to Chid, but the fact that the boy hadn't acted as if Aston had needed to say anything at all gave him some much needed peace of mind. For all their secrets and squabbles, the Astons could be a forgiving lot.

And regardless of the boy's paternity, Chid was an Aston. At this moment, King Aston took a lot of pride and comfort in that.

0-0-0-0-0

"Will it really take all of us to watch over Fassa and his goon?" Revius asked as he and Alucier waited in an alleyway just off the palace grounds. Nuri lurked behind them, irked with being regulated to the background but too disciplined to complain about it.

They were watching Meiden stand around in front of a fountain that he claimed was a meeting place for the assassin he'd hired on as a spy. They'd been waiting for awhile. All were coming to the conclusion that if this spy didn't show soon, this whole venture would be a colossal, potentially dangerous waste.

Alucier wasn't ready to give up quite yet. Allen had gone back with Marqesita and Celena. The palace guards were on alert as a whole due to the ball and the best of those men had been given instructions to be on a special, extra paranoid alert. If something were to happen at the palace, there were others to handle it. If something were to happen here, he wasn't sure he could trust Meiden to do the same.

Still, he and Meiden might be enough. He was about to send Revius and Nuri back when Meiden's man finally showed up.

They stepped further back into the alley, hiding behind a bin that contained the trash generated by the nearby shops. Assassins were flinchy sorts. Nuri would draw a suspicious look. Two Caeli would have the man running for the hills.

Meiden and his man spoke for a few moments, Meiden apparently doing most of the talking as he never seemed to stop. Alucier couldn't get a good look at the other man without coming out of his hiding place so he had to settle on reading Meiden only. He didn't seem to be hearing what he wanted to hear. Alucier wasn't that great at lip reading but Meiden was making the same motions over and over again, as if repeating the question in the hopes of getting a different answer.

Instead of complying, the assassin pointed to a tavern further away from the alley and said something to Meiden. The two men set off, Meiden motioning from behind his back that he should be followed.

"I don't like this," Revius muttered. Alucier agreed. There was hardly anyone in the area and surely the tavern would actually be more crowded. Why would he be willing to speak to Meiden there instead of out here?

They let Meiden and the assassin get a decent lead on them before leaving their hiding spot. They walked casually, careful not to spook anyone or raise suspicions. Revius reached for something inside the vest of his uniform, patting himself idly as if he was searching for something harmless like a pen. Alucier knew that was where he kept a stash of knives.

Meiden and friend didn't go into the tavern. They stopped short at another alley, then abruptly turned course and headed down another.

They could not lose sight of Meiden. None of them had seen to assassin to be able to identify him later. If he did something to Meiden and then slipped away, they weren't likely to find him. Then there was the whole keeping their oath to the Order to protect a citizen of Asturia thing. There was no fine print in the Oath that allowed the exclusion of weasel merchants. Alucier figured monkish codes were even more rigid.

They took off, only to discover that the alley Meiden had disappeared down split in two directions.

Revius and Nuri went right; Alucier took the left.

The backstreets of Palas, particularly in the limited space by the palace, were like a labyrinth, with backdoors leading into shops and houses and the fences set up to mark territory creating dead ends and extra turns. Alucier hadn't patrolled this area in years and with every new shop or homeowner reconfiguring their backyard when they moved in, what little memory he had of these streets was useless. He just had to keep running and searching and hoping Meiden was putting up enough resistance to slow his captor down.

Finally he caught a break. He'd passed a turn when he saw a swirl of robe out of the corner of his eye. He spun, nearly twisting his ankle from the combination of the quick movement and the loose pavement. Alucier ignored the painful protests from his foot and ran towards the robe. It had to be Meiden.

He caught a break. The alleyways had twisted so much that Revius and Nuri were behind him when Alucier hooked a left onto a fairly straight path.

They'd gotten a clear view. "Went right," Revius panted.

Nuri, used to exhausting runs through the warm, arid air of Freid as part of his training, wasn't as winded. He explained clearly, "I saw a weapon on our enemy and his pace quickened upon seeing us. He's likely getting desperate. We should hurry."

Their luck held. They reached an abrupt dead end, where the assassin stood with his arm slung over Meiden's shoulder. They could almost be mistaken for two good friends out on a stroll, standing close to share a confidence.

"Revius," Alucier whispered and but his friend already had a slender blade out between his fingers. His hand arched, the blade flew and then neatly lodged in the hand the assassin had put over Meiden's shoulder. It had taken a second or two. In another pass of seconds, Alucier had his sword at the man's neck.

Meiden staggered away, half in shock and half in relief. His hand went to his neck, where a thin trickle of blood proved how close it had been. "I was paying you well, you bastard," he seethed at the assassin.

"Not enough apparently," Revius said. While Alucier held the man at bay, Revius retrieved his knife – slowly and with a twist.

Meiden took great pleasure in the wince the assassin made. "You were going to kill me. I hire you for an easy job for far more money than you're worth and you have the nerve to betray me!"

"An untrustworthy assassin," Alucier said. "Who ever would have thought?"

Meiden was too furious to be swayed by logic. He kept screaming at the man, demanding to know who he was really working for and why he tried to kill him. The assassin remained unperturbed, not even looking at Meiden. Revius cleaned off his knife in the interim then made a show of opening his vest to display the others that were nestled in the band of leather sewn onto the inside.

"You going to talk?" he asked the assassin casually.

"No," the man finally responded.

The screaming approach hadn't worked and intimidation wasn't going so well either. Generic intimidation, that is. Alucier took a chance that the assassin, who looked like a homegrown Asturian, wasn't too knowledgeable of the ways of Freidian monks. There were some wild rumors out there about their treatment of criminals. It helped that Nuri had been glowering at the assassin like the man was the lowest scum of Gaea since they'd stopped him.

"Say, Nuri, how did that interrogation technique you were telling about go? You know, the thing with the knives and eyes?"

Nuri didn't like lying but he recognized the expediency of playing along. "I am loathe to perform it out here in the open where all can hear the screams."

The assassin gave the smallest sign of nervousness.

_Hooray for xenophobia_, Alucier thought. "We could gag him."

Revius helpfully supplied Nuri with one of his knives. The monk immediately disapproved. "This edge is too sharp. Any cut it makes will be too quick and clean. Dull it against a stone."

The nervousness grew. Alucier pounced, putting his arm around the assassin in a reversal of the hold Meiden had been in earlier.

"I know you're trained to keep your mouth shut. Monks have a lot of training too though," Alucier started. "I know, I know. You're trained to keep quiet even if it kills you. But we're both reasonable men here. I don't see any need for you to die or even get hurt and you won't if you talk to me. I can call off Nuri and while trying to kill somebody as high up as Meiden generally does get you a death penalty, special considerations can be made."

Alucier paused, waiting for his offer to sink in before presenting the assassin's other option. "About your employers though. I know they won't be happy if you talk but how happy do you think they will be to find out you failed? Because that eye thing won't kill you. It'll just make it really hard for you to avoid angry, revenge minded people looking for you."

The nervousness flickered like a flame gaining extra fuel. Between Alucier's scenario and the scraping sounds created by Revius turning the edge of his throwing knife into a jagged, chipped mess, there was a lot of extra fuel.

"How special are these considerations?"

Meiden wanted to know too. It was his neck that was bleeding and that would have bled a hell of a lot more if the assassin hadn't been stopped. The only considerations Meiden had for him were an extra dank cell in the dungeon and the really heavy leg irons.

Alucier wouldn't go into specifics. He didn't have the authority to cut deals with criminals, wouldn't even have it if he did get appointed to Lord Ramkin's post. But the assassin didn't have to know that any more than he had to know that Freidians had some of the most humane treatment of prisoners on Gaea. "Just know they'll be a lot less violent and final than the considerations your employers will give you. All you have to do is give us a name."

The assassin considered. It went against the rules of his profession to give up a client this easily. Once word got out, he'd have a hard time getting another job. Then again, dead men couldn't get any jobs at all. The choice between employment and death versus unemployment and life was not hard.

He said a name.

Meiden's hand dropped from his wound in surprise. The name didn't belong to the Cesarian. The name sounded Egzardian.

Alucier recognized it. Marqesita had complained about the man the name belonged to before. He'd been the most avid detractor of a measure in Parliament that she'd supported.

_We're back on this again?_ Alucier wondered. It was neat and tidy and fit all existing theories. Meiden's suspicions were vague and tenuous.

But Meiden believed in them whole heartedly. He began berating the assassin, demanding that he give the name he knew to be true.

The assassin stuck to his story. "I didn't know the guy personally. I don't like working for foreigners," he said, deliberately looking away from Nuri, "But I know his contacts here. They pay good."

"That's it?" Meiden barked.

"Not quite it…" The assassin paused and gave Alucier a look that suggested he wanted his considerations to have a new level of special.

Alucier nodded. He hadn't actually offered him anything yet. He could afford a little more of nothing.

"I wasn't going to kill him, just lead him around for awhile. Killing him was a last resort in case I got caught. When I saw you guys, I took off. You'll notice it wasn't until I got stuck here that I tried anything."

"Oh, well, in that case, we'll have to let you off with a slap on the wrist," Meiden bathed in sarcasm.

Alucier told Meiden to shut up. He responded predictably, by shouting louder who he was and what had been done to him. Revius did his best to muzzle him, but the most he was able to achieve was to drag him away so the noise was slightly lower.

The assassin was still too cowed by his fear of Nuri to move, but Alucier sensed a finale was coming to this act and kept the fear high. He angled his sword across the man's neck and shoulder. Any attempt to move would result in a cut far nastier than Meiden's.

"Why were you told to lead him around?"

"To keep him distracted."

"From what?"

"I don't know. You think I get told everything?"

"You knew your real employer's name well enough."

"Because I've worked for him before. I told you, those Egzardians pay a ton. Makes it worth it."

"Shut up." Alucier was thinking. The only thing Meiden could be distracted from was this evening's party. That meant he had to get back as soon as possible.

But it meant more than that. The invitations had only gone out a few days ago. Parliament would have to move awfully fast to hear about the party and then hire this guy away from Meiden in time. If, he'd ever been working for Meiden in the first place.

"When were you given these orders? Before or after Meiden thought he hired you?"

The assassin answered and Alucier started getting the picture that had been so unclear before. The Egzardian parliament was in on this on some level, but they weren't working alone.

Crazy, annoying, weasely Meiden might just be right after all.

0-0-0-0

Author's Note: Poor Alucier has to figure it out while Tellot just tells everybody else. Oh, well. He still has a piece to the puzzle the others don't. What could it be?

Next up: The party comes to an end as everything comes out in the open. The end is very near, not just for this fic, but for one of the characters.


	34. Kiss Me, Kill Me

Intrigues of a Princess

XXX: Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me – Part C

Allen rushed back into the ballroom to see that absolutely nothing out of the ordinary was happening except for the sudden appearance of a slightly winded Caeli. A few party goers turned to regard him. To prevent any further attention coming his way, he stopped abruptly. This worked against him as, Celena, trailing him too closely, careened into him.

Marqesita sidestepped the mess and tidied up. "First you had to find your sister to bring her back and now she can't wait to be in here."

The party goers returned to their conversations, figuring this was nothing more than the daft Schezar girl living up to the rumors about her. Allen heard some of their chatter and would have taken offense to it, but there were more important matters at hand. He strode through the crowd slowly but purposefully towards the royal table. Celena again followed, though with a bit more stopping room. Marqesita headed over to Bennor. She had to stop halfway when she realized Tellot wasn't behind her anymore. He'd stopped by the ballroom doors, unable to turn back but finding going forward harder than he'd thought it would be.

"You have to do this," she told him once she'd returned to him. "Bennor has to know."

"I have to know what?" As typical, after Bennor had noticed his siblings, he'd been too impatient to wait for them to come to him. Tellot looked as if it would take a melef to get him into the ballroom proper anyway.

"Yeah," Tellot mumbled. "You should know." He wasn't willing to spill it right here. Whatever resolve he'd been building had dissipated upon the sight of the Cesarian waltzing around the room with an Asturian noblewoman. The Cesarian hadn't indicated if he'd seen Tellot, but Tellot knew. The Cesarian saw everything. "Can we go…?"

Marqesita understood. She was still angry at Tellot for his betrayal, still unsure when or even if she could ever trust him again and she was the forgiving one. Bennor would not take this well. Furiously, loudly – that would be how he would take it. They didn't need an audience for that.

As the e' Egzards left the ballroom, Allen and Celena reached the royal table. They received a warm welcome, with the exception of Aston who grumbled at Allen if there was a reason for disturbing them.

"Forgive me, your highness, but I have urgent news for Princess Eries concerning the incident Alucier Maerzen has been investigating."

That got Aston's full attention. "Then tell us all, Schezar. I'm king of this country and I will know of who is plotting against her and her guests."

"You found out who attacked Prince Tellot?" Chid asked, his voice heart-breakingly full of pride.

Allen nodded, glad that for once that he wasn't failing Chid's expectations though he really hadn't done much to get this information. "It was Prince Tellot himself, your highness. He's confessed to being part of a conspiracy and has named his co-conspirators."

"Tellot?" Eries gasped. He was the last person she would have thought capable.

The idea was so ludicrous that Aston had to verify which brother was Tellot and which was Bennor. He quickly regained his composure, demanding to know who'd threatened the summit.

"That guy," Celena answered, turning to point out the waltzing Cesarian.

Her finger indicated an empty space. The man who had been occupying it was nowhere to be found.

0-0-0-0

Marqesita brought her brothers to the same storeroom Eries had waited in earlier. The cake and other foodstuffs were gone, save for a few bottles of vino that were presumably part of the presents. Marqesita recognized the label. It was from Egzardia's most famous and expensive vineyard. She stared at it for a moment, confused. She'd been in charge of Eries' gift and had bought her several silk gowns, some of which were to be presented this evening and a few extra that she'd give later, when no one else was around to see Eries blush. It was odd that anyone would make a gift of vino from her homeland instead of theirs.

Bennor had scant patience for the mysteries of vino labels and quiet siblings. He demanded an explanation, a damn good one at that.

Tellot stammered out apologies first. Softening up Bennor was a futile task, serving the sole purpose of delaying the inevitable. Tellot sought support from Marqesita. She couldn't quite give it to him yet, only nodding sternly that he had to get it out.

Tellot took a deep breath and told all he knew. Bennor, like everyone else, was incredulous at first. He'd thought Tellot was up to something. He never dreamed that something could be so big. Letting himself get stabbed – that was a sacrifice Bennor never would have thought his brother to be capable of.

The doubt and awe were short lived. Tellot was barely through a concluding plea for forgiveness when Bennor tore into him. How could he frame his own brother? How could he let Egzardia's crown be beholden to foreigners?

Tellot shook his head. "No, no…I wasn't going to let him near the crown."

"You were going to rule all by your lonesome? With me in a prison? What exactly were you planning to do to Sita?"

"I was going to let Parliament help…and you! I never would have let you go to prison. I never would have done anything to Sita!"

"Then how were you planning to remove me from succession," Marqesita asked. "Because I would hardly count letting everyone know about Tavas to be not doing anything to me."

Tellot shrank back, feeling more horrible than ever. "He said you would back down before that had to happen. With Bennor under suspicion, you'd want to keep scandals to a minimum and would give up."

At once, Marqesita grew colder and more furious than Bennor. "You told him about Tavas? You told a foreigner about our family? Do you have any idea what you did? Once that bastard has our secrets, he will think he has us! You could not have honestly believed he'd let you go to rule all on your own!"

"And after this escapade," Bennor sneered, "he'd have plenty of additional blackmail material too. Gods, I thought you'd be bad for the crown. I really had no idea…"

"I didn't…" Tellot sank into blubbering again. His grand attempt to repair things was tearing him down. He deserved that and more, but he still needed hope that one of the things he could fix was his relationship with his siblings.

He was not finding much mercy in the room. Bennor grew disgusted and stormed out. Marqesita didn't know what to do. Tellot had grown so pathetic she couldn't help feeling pity for him. But the knowledge of how deep his betrayal had run stopped her from feeling any empathy.

He still had a lot to prove to her to earn back her good graces. She'd set him on the path at least, out of the respect for family he'd forgotten. "We should find Alucier. He's in charge of security and the investigation."

Tellot grasped at the small offering. Stifling his tears as best he could, he promised he would do whatever Alucier told him to do.

"Good," Marqesita said. "Now we just need to find him." Alucier wouldn't like her seeking him without an escort but she wasn't about to pry Allen away from the royal family and the palace guards would have their hands full trying to foil whatever the Cesarian was plotting. She wasn't too worried. Meiden had mentioned he would be staying close to palace grounds. Alucier couldn't be that far away.

And, perversely, with Tellot's involvement in the conspiracy came two protections: his own cabal wouldn't attack him with an actual intent to harm and if any other hostile crossed their paths, Tellot felt so guilty she knew she could rely on him defending her any way he could as an atonement.

"Come on," she said gently, taking Tellot's arm. "Let's get this done."

0-0-0-0

The Cesarian was furious. He'd seen Tellot at the entrance to the ballroom, all sulking misery, and he had known. _The stupid oaf spilled his guts_.

That had always been the weakest link in the plan. He'd counted on his ability to soothe and cajole to keep Tellot safely in line. That, and how much the damned fool owed him for past misdeeds.

There were contingencies in place. He'd never written a single incriminating word to Tellot, nor left anything that could be construed as evidence. It would be Tellot's word against his. A fine, upstanding merchant with connections to the seats of power in every corner of the world against a drunken whoremonger who was desperate to keep a tenuous grasp on his throne.

Leaving Tellot to the wolves might hurt his chance to control Egzardia's government but he wouldn't be controlling a thing if he were to rot away in a jail cell. He had to cut his losses.

If it came to that. He was trying to stay positive. As bleak as things looked, he might be able to salvage something of this evening. His plan was unlikely to be uncovered. The palace guards would waste time looking for assassins in every corner where none were to be found. He'd taken the precaution to keep both Tellot and the Basramian in the dark. They'd have no clues to give no matter how long or hard they were interrogated.

He grimaced. The Basramian was a loose end, another word to add to Tellot's in going against his. He hadn't been able to warn him. The man had been dancing on the other end of the room and not paying the slightest bit of attention to anyone other than his dance partner.

That could work both ways. True, it made the Basramian a ridiculously easy target to arrest. That easiness, however, would belie the man's apparent involvement in an elaborate conspiracy. Really, would someone so canny politically just stand there like an idiot waiting for the palace guard to take him into custody? If he managed to keep his mouth shut, with no hard evidence against him either, the tables would turn and it would be his word and the Cesarian's against Tellot. Everyone might suspect what they had done, but they couldn't prove it legally.

The Cesarian loved technicalities like that.

Yes, he would stay positive. Things would work out yet. Tellot didn't know of his alignment with Parliament. If the oaf still got in as king, the Cesarian would still wield the power he wanted; he'd only be further back in the shadows. If the oaf stepped down, well, neither Parliament nor the shadows would be going anywhere. It wasn't what he'd hoped for but it was still something.

It was all coming to a point this evening. He still had much to win. It wasn't safe to remain here and watch it play out though. A quick trip home would raise the eyebrows of would be accusers, but he needed to put distance between the summit and himself.

There was still that matter of his plan too. He'd decided that Tellot and the Basramian had been right. He didn't want to be around when that unfolded either.

0-0-0-0-0

The first thing Alucier did when he returned to the palace was to send Revius off with Meiden and Nuri to find a safe place to wait out the upcoming storm. The second was to hand his charge off to a beefed up palace guard. The extra men were a nice reassurance. Allen must have already sounded an alarm. With more lookouts, the safer the party guests were likely to be. That left him free to put together the very last pieces of the puzzle.

The assassin, whether he knew it or not, had filled in a good bit. Egzardia's parliament _was_ involved. Not at the level they had originally assumed but neither excluded as Meiden's naming of the Cesarian had suggested. There was definitely another mastermind leading this plot and he wasn't aligned with Parliament either. Too many clues had pointed to that country and anyone capable of dreaming up a plan this big wouldn't be that messy. So somebody, possibly Meiden's Cesarian pal, was running one show.

On Parliament's side, someone pretty damn crafty was running another.

He decided to find Marqesita immediately. She knew more about Parliament than anyone. They'd been over the list before when Parliament had first come under suspicion but another go around with slightly more knowledge might be more productive.

And it would be kind of nice to see her.

Unfortunately, Bennor was the first Egzardian he came across. He was feeling very talkative, a mood Alucier first disliked until it became clear it was a godsend instead.

"You better get to the storeroom off the ballroom. Tellot's there confessing his heart out. Maybe I should go with you. After what he's done, I want to see him put under arrest."

Alucier, like everybody else, boggled momentarily over Tellot's involvement. He shook it off. He'd been given a gift here. It looked like one case was solved and with that, he could focus on the other. Details on the first might even help him with the second. How did they fit together? Were they moving towards the same goal – to see Tellot as king? Parliament would love that. But what if they didn't fit? Then the list of suspects opened up wide again. Except there was no evidence they were working at counter purposes. Meiden had been distracted for the seeming point of letting the other plan go through.

A former suspect was getting sick waiting for Alucier's mental speculations to be through. "Yes, I know it's stupefying that Tellot could pull of something like this," Bennor groused, "but could you snap out of it and come with me!"

"Sure, let's go," Alucier answered. He was getting very close. His instincts were telling him the second plot was dovetailing the first. He really needed to speak with Marqesita. If they were able to solve this, not only would he be getting his promotion, she just might get the crown.

Now he was the overly anxious one. He grabbed Bennor's arm and began pulling him along. "On the way you can tell me everything Tellot told you. Details, his partners' names, whatever."

"This is Tellot we're speaking of. No details but I do have names."

"That'll work."

0-0-0-0

They were supposed to go to Meiden's office. The merchant had described it as one of the safest rooms in the entire palace. Meiden, however, did not want to go there. Oblivious to the breakthroughs others had achieved, Meiden wanted to claim credit for his in front of the royal family. He was hoping Eries had left enough room after her birthday banquet for a healthy serving of crow.

Nuri just wanted to be rid of the company of the merchant and going back to the ballroom was the fastest way to accomplish that.

They arrived to find business as usual. Allen was consulting with Lord Ramkin and Revius went to join him. Nuri, noticing Chid still sat with the royals, saw an opportunity to fulfill his promise to Eries to gather intelligence for her. Meiden, worried that the Freidian would steal his glory, made a beeline for the same table.

Meiden's glory was not to be. He'd long since been beaten by Tellot. Despite the foiling of a dastardly plot, his ebullience took on a sulking air, something both Aston and Dryden picked up on.

"Don't worry, Dad. You can catch the bad guys next time."

Eries cracked a thin smile that annoyed Meiden further. He did still have the capture of the Cesarian to look forward to. Meiden wasn't going to rub that downfall in so much as grind it in into the bone. As far he was concerned, being framed was as big as an offense as being cut out of a partnership in favor of a dolt like Tellot. That was just insulting.

"Perhaps I should try to catch our Cesarian friend as it looks as if the palace guard isn't doing a good job of it," Meiden said, spreading the pettiness around.

His joke might have had more bite if not for the bad timing. As he was proclaiming the guard's incompetence, Revius was escorting the Basramian away for a nice talk. Lord Ramkin himself approached the table for the Cesarian delegates. They had much to discuss as well.

Allen rejoined the royals, briefing them on Lord Ramkin's orders. They were interviewing all known associates as well as setting up a canvas of the palace. "A messenger has been dispatched to the leviship port to ground all departing flights," he concluded.

Everyone at the table breathed a sigh of relief. They thought the whole thing was over. Meiden wouldn't be getting any glory by spoiling this happy delusion, but somebody had to let them know what happened with the assassin.

"I'm afraid there's more going on here," Meiden announced gravely before launching into a tale that more or less resembled what actually happened. In Meiden's version, he was less hostage-y and Nuri and the Caeli were less come to the rescue-y. He fingered the slight cut he'd received on his throat dramatically to show the danger he had faced.

His tale of peril and intrigue brought hardly any sympathy from his audience. Eries thought his wound looked like a papercut. Aston came right out and said it did. Only Chid and Millerna expressed any concern. Meiden couldn't care less what the boy thought but his daughter in-law's worry was touching – until Dryden joked he'd done worse to himself shaving.

"Yes, boy," Meiden grumped, "when you have so little practice at a task, I suppose it can become life threatening on the rare occasions when you do undertake it."

Father and son exchanged a few more good natured barbs with Aston tossing in one of his own. Chid, used to the polite and formal ways of Freidians, found the familial bickering amusing. The mood actually lifted, enough that it was possible to believe that it was all over. The Cesarian still being free and the nature of the Egzardian parliament's involvement were merely loose ends that were soon to be tied up neatly. Surely with all plots being exposed, no one would try anything tonight.

A member of the palace staff approached to remind them that it was almost time for Eries to receive her gifts. All thought it was an excellent idea. This was a party. Whatever was going on in the background had to remain there.

And they really believed they had cause to celebrate.

0-0-0-0-0

Marqesita wasn't familiar with this wing of the palace. She'd never had much reason to seek out the palace guard. The only member of that staff she wanted to see always came to her. But with no other idea where Alucier could be, she had decided the best course of action would be to go to the guard station and stay there. With all that was going on, Alucier was sure to turn up there eventually.

She wasn't so positive that she and Tellot would turn up there in the near future. She'd like to have a few choice words with the architect who thought it would be a neat idea to have the corridors in this section wind on and on with room after same looking room. She supposed these were staff quarters and therefore not meant to be anything but serviceable. Still, a sign or two would be nice.

Tellot wasn't holding up well. Emotionally exhausted, he trudged behind her not paying any attention to where he went, only making sure Marqesita was in front him. She in turn was going slower to make sure she didn't get too far ahead of him. With time of the essence, Marqesita ordered him to sit down while she scouted ahead to see if they were on the right path.

Two turns later she was on more recognizable ground. The guard station would be just across this small courtyard, one floor up. Marqesita yelled for Tellot to join her. When he didn't yell back, she turned around to see what was keeping him.

She heard angry whispers echoing off the wall. She could only make out a few words. The ones she heard were worrisome enough. Tellot was talking to two men. These men worked for a 'him' that Marqesita surmised to be the Cesarian. These men were not pleased with Tellot.

She stood still, not sure whether to return to her brother or go running for the palace guard. Then she heard a grunt, followed by Tellot screaming, "Sita, run!"

She did but not in the direction Tellot wanted her to go. It was almost instinctual to go to Tellot. She thought that it must say something about how she really felt about him. She did not think to yell for the guard.

As she rounded a corner, she realized what a foolish mistake that had been as arm came over her chest and a hand went over her mouth. She struggled against her captor but he held her close, whispering to her to calm down unless she wanted to be hurt.

Tellot and another man were in front of her, the former smiling as he held a knife in front of the neck of the former.

"You really did mess this up, didn't you, Tellot?" the man chastised. "The boss is really pissed. The plan's completely shot and we're thinking we're not going to get paid what he promised us because of it. I don't see why I should have to pay for your mistakes."

"Whatever you want, I can pay it," Tellot offered. "Just let Sita go."

"I don't know," the man leered. "A woman that beautiful seems to be worth more than gold. I certainly can think of a few uses for her."

Marqesita bristled at the implications of the man's plans. As far as she could tell, her captor wasn't armed. That didn't mean there wasn't a sword strapped to his back or erase the fact that his friend's knife looked very sharp indeed. She squirmed as best she could but couldn't get loose. To prove how futile her struggle was, her captor forced her against the wall to make it harder for her to move.

"Don't hurt her," Tellot begged.

"I'm sorry," the man replied calmly, "but you forced this. He was going to set us up as merchants. We would've gotten way more than money. We would have had status. We would have had respect."

"You don't deserve it. None of us do."

_Don't make him angrier!_ Marqesita thought. He probably thought confronting these men would be the heroic thing to do. If he'd had a weapon or the skills to back himself up in that confrontation, it would have been. As it was, it looked like he was going to get them both killed.

He was going to fight it out to the end though. Tellot rose, ignoring the knife in front of him. "I don't care what you do to me, just let her go. She has nothing to do with this."

Over the years, many jokes had been made about Tellot's size. The man wasn't laughing anymore as it started to sink in what an enraged and reckless Tellot could do to him before the knife put it to a stop. The conclusions he reached were not good for him.

"Don't be foolish, Tellot. Hurt me and your sister will receive far worse." The man signaled to Marqesita's captor. With her already against the wall, it was easy to use his knee to wedge her in place while freeing up his arm to retrieve the weapon she'd been praying he didn't have.

_Think, damn it!_ Marqesita shrieked in her mind. Tellot would be cowed as long as she was a hostage and struggling wasn't getting her anywhere.

And then she remembered something Alucier had told her. Don't struggle at all. Become dead weight and throw your attacker off balance.

She let her legs go limp. Her captor clearly hadn't been expecting that. His knee was able to hold her in place but not prop her up. Marqesita dropped to the floor, the hand that was covering her mouth sliding off. Finally free to speak, she screamed with every last bit of breath in her lungs. The stone walls of the palace amplified the noise, sending it down the halls and, Marqesita hoped, out across the courtyard to the guard station. The two attackers paused, unsure whether to abandon their impromptu plan or to carry it out quickly so they could get away.

They paused too long. Tellot lunged for the man who'd been holding Marqesita and brought him down in a swift tackle. The other man didn't need time to consider this change. He ran.

Marqesita scrambled to her feet. She took note of where the man seemed to be heading. She could already hear boot steps approaching in a run from the hall where'd she been when Tellot had yelled for her. She'd let the guards take care of the bastard.

"That was very brave of you, Tellot," she said and turned to help him up. She let out a gasp. Tellot wasn't moving, only a low groan came from his lips.

"Tellot…?"

She was almost afraid to touch him. Her captor had been trying to pull a weapon. What if he had succeeded?

"Tellot…?"

The guards she'd been expecting arrived in the form of Alucier and Bennor. While Bennor demanded to know what had happened, Alucier immediately dropped to the floor to attend to, for the second time, an injured Tellot.

He reached a hand under Tellot's gut and found the length of steel protruding into it near the spot of his original injury. He quickly ripped off a length of his overskirt and bunched it up. Lifting Tellot gingerly off the knife, he shoved the fabric against the wound in a vain hope that it would stop the flow of blood.

"Help me with him," he asked Bennor.

Too stunned for any kind of commentary, Bennor went to work without a word. Together, they gently rolled Tellot over to his back. The big man winced in pain but he was still better off than the man he'd tackled. Marqesita's captor lay perfectly still, his neck at an odd angle. Alucier didn't bother checking for a pulse.

"He'll be all right, won't he?" Marqesita whispered.

Alucier didn't know what to say. Bennor, too, didn't answer. Instead, he rose, muttering something about the guards and a doctor, and ran off towards the guard station. A few seconds later, they could hear him shouting for help.

"Sita?" Tellot mumbled feebly. "You're okay, right?"

She knelt down beside Alucier and took Tellot's hand. "I'm fine, all because of you. That was amazing."

"It was? Kind of like you knights, huh?"

Alucier had no idea what had happened but nodded anyway. "It was very brave."

Tellot was so pleased he managed to smile against the pain he was in. "I'm so sorry. When I saw him, I just wanted to fix what I'd done…"

"Consider it done," Marqesita said. "Because of you, we're going to bring that Cesarian bastard and his thugs to justice."

That was all he wanted to hear. He took a ragged breath and let his head loll to the side.

"Stay with me now," Alucier urged. His overskirt was already soaked through. Marqesita ripped off another piece for him.

"Wish I could be ripping off your clothes in better circumstances," she said, choking on the forced humor. The attempt at levity was successful in that in brought a weak chuckle from Tellot. In Marqesita it had to opposite effect. The tears she'd been forcing back began to flow as this piece of overskirt became saturated with blood as quickly as the first.

Bennor returned, a report on the guards and doctors on his lips but when he looked at Tellot, he could only stare. There was just too much blood, too soon after his first injury.

"What happened?" he asked softly.

Marqesita explained how they'd been searching for the guard station and how Tellot had confronted the Cesarian's goons when she'd gone ahead. She described Tellot's heroics in grander fashion than perhaps they deserved while downplaying her own role. She wasn't looking for her own glory, only to shine that light on Tellot while she still could.

Bennor accepted her version of events, his cynicism driven away by the sight before him. His compassion, so rarely used, came out instead as he offered the words he knew Tellot would most want to hear. "Father would be very proud of you."

There was one last thing Tellot had to fix, the most important thing now. "Promise me you'll make him proud too…both of you…"

Brother and sister made their vows. Alucier was about to ask for a third strip of his overskirt when the palace guards arrived with a doctor.

There was nothing for the doctor to do. Alucier rose, sending the guards down the hall after the escaped attacker. A stunned Marqesita collapsed against him and buried her head against his chest. He held on as tightly as he could.

Without realizing he was moving, Bennor stepped backwards until he came up against a wall. He couldn't fathom it. He'd always found Tellot so tiresome and trying. He'd marveled that they even had a mother in common for all their differences. One hour ago, he'd been furious at him for his betrayal. And yet, in a brief moment, all the enmity vanished, the warm memories of his brother that he'd dismissed as exceptions became the rule.

Whatever had come before, Bennor knew only one thing would continue after: he would keep his promise regardless of what it would cost him.

0-0-0-0

With news of Tellot's death still far from the grand ballroom, the party continued. Empty desserts plates had been set aside for another round of dancing. Slowly but surely, the pile of gifts was being transferred from the storeroom to a table beside the ice sculpture.

While those in the know remained alert, Aston had cautioned Eries to act as if nothing were out of sorts. He was so adamant that he suggested she take to the dance floor with Allen, grumpily adding that he was her guard, after all.

Eries would have agreed regardless but appreciated that her father would offer her such an incentive. In the past, his suggestions had never been so generous or understanding. As Eries recalled, every time her father had been witness to a dance between her and Allen, it had been with a scowl on his face.

She couldn't fully enjoy herself though. The palace guards continued to discreetly interview the rather confused Cesarian and Basramian delegations. Eries didn't know what story the guards had given but as she and Allen subtly maneuvered so they would be dancing close to the non-conspiracy minded Basramians, she overheard them guessing at what could have happened with the man's business that he was pulled from the ball so quickly. As she listened in on the theories, she gained the impression that while the Basramian was well regarded for his business acumen, he didn't earn high marks for his personality. There was more than one joke indicating they hoped the news about his business was bad.

"Doesn't sound as if he had many friends among his countrymen," Allen noted in a whisper.

"That would explain why he colluded with another so charming," Eries answered.

They didn't want to do too much talking lest they be overheard so the next bridge of the song had them dancing away to another part of the floor. Whatever they did in their new location was assured to go unnoticed as Celena had somehow convinced Gaddes to dance with her. With one partner not wanting to dance and the other very much interested in doing so without the slightest clue how to do it properly, they were drawing a lot of attention. Every stare made Gaddes more self-conscious and stiffer on the dance floor. Celena, forever oblivious, took that as a challenge to get him to loosen up.

"I should save him," Allen said. He did not, however, make any move to help.

Eries would not have let him. This was too rich. Watching Celena do grand, sweeping circles around her rigid partner was the most amusing thing she'd seen in weeks. She caught Dryden's eye and he gave a nod acknowledging their earlier joke about establishing a new dance craze.

Unfortunately, the next event ensured that would never come to pass. A guard slipped into the ballroom and over to the royal table. He spoke with Aston first and the king's eyes grew wide upon hearing what the guard had to say. Aston regained his composure quickly so that only those who'd been watching closely would have noticed anything wrong.

Eries, of course, had been watching very keenly.

The second the song was over, she was back at her father's side. In that time, the news had spread to everyone but Chid, who was being urged by Millerna to give dancing a try. They boy wasn't thick. He knew something was amiss, but he also knew his family wished for him to remain in the dark. He took his aunt's hand.

In typical 'keeping up appearances' fashion, no one said a thing until Eries was seated. When Aston did drop the bomb, it was done calmly, as if asking Eries to pass him a napkin.

"Tellot e' Egzard is dead."

"What?" Eries breathed. That was even more shocking than the news of his involvement in the plot. She was sure it was wrong. Perhaps Egzardia had finally announced the death of the king and that was who Aston was thinking of. It would be extremely odd to make that announcement during her birthday ball but the idea of Tellot being dead was stranger still.

Aston repeated the news. Leaving no room for doubt, he added, "His brother and sister already know. They've been taken back to their quarters. Eries, I know you're close with Princess Marqesita. I know your absence will be conspicuous but for the sake of our relations with Egzardia, I believe I can come up with some excuse for a brief absence while you speak with her."

She didn't linger to find out what that excuse was. In their haste, she and Allen were half way to their destination before Aston announced the presents would have to wait. He was setting up a special surprise for Eries.

They passed Alucier on the way. His uniform ripped and bloody, he was nonetheless still on the job, giving orders to a pack of guards. He caught Eries and Allen up as quickly as possible, telling them how Tellot had confronted two of the Cesarian's thugs. The Cesarian was still missing as was one of his men. He asked them what Meiden had told them about Parliament. Since Meiden hadn't been privy to Alucier's conversation with the assassin, it was missing some details. He filled them, adding his own speculation.

It certainly made a difference.

But Eries didn't have time to delve into the significance of Egzardia's parliament in all this. She had Egzardia's royalty to look after. Alucier said Marqesita was holding up well, with Bennor being surprisingly supportive. Eries believed him. Alucier never would have left Marqesita's side if she hadn't been in caring hands.

She and Bennor were sitting in silence when Eries and Allen arrived. The two siblings had a drained look about them, Marqesita had clearly been crying and Bennor did some sniffling that wasn't caused by his fake cold.

Eries hadn't thought he had it in him.

"You heard?" Marqesita said feebly as Eries approached her, arms open.

Eries embraced her friend, offering condolences while thinking it had not been that long ago when she'd done the very same thing to comfort Marqesita about the death of her father. One death was devastating. Two in short order was too much.

"Will you be all right?" Eries asked.

Marqesita nodded. "Some day, I'm sure. Right now I just want to find the bastard behind all this."

"We will do all we can," Allen promised. "We already have the Basramian in custody. We've begun questioning the other delegates. This is all because of Tellot's help."

Though he easily could have noted how a lot of this was Tellot's fault in the first place, Bennor made no snide comment, only thanking Allen for the news. Marqesita expressed her gratitude as well.

"It's only a matter of time," Allen said. "The palace is large but it's sealed off. He can't hide forever."

Eries wanted to stay longer. She wanted to stay by her friend's side. Then there was the matter of Egzardia's parliament. She had questions to ask. Alucier did as well. But it felt wrong to tread on such a distressing moment. Bennor and Marqesita needed time to grieve, not an interrogation.

But despite the display of his kinder side, Bennor was still Bennor. What he needed first was the responsible parties brought to justice. He pulled Alucier and Eries aside, demanding to know what, if anything, they had learned.

"We were hoping to get more information from you," Alucier said. He asked Bennor the questions he'd intended to pose to Marqesita. Bennor, not quite as knowledge as his sister when it came to the politicians in Parliament, gave what answers he could. His time away at the military academy limited his knowledge too much though and he couldn't even place the name that Alucier had gotten from the would-be assassin to a face. Clearly, Marqesita was needed.

The men let Eries handle it. She broached the subject a little too carefully. Marqesita put a stop to Eries' hemming and hawing by declaring she didn't need to be coddled. "I can answer a few questions, especially if it means we can find out everyone who is behind this."

The name in question was discussed. Other names were added. Connections were drawn. From what they learned Eries thought Alucier's speculation was leading somewhere. To get there, she started exploring those connections more.

"So this man who hired Meiden's attacker, this Cindal e' Kerig, leads the minority party…"

"Who have always gotten along well with the crown," Marqesita said. "They have to. They're in the minority so to get anything they want they need friends in high places."

"Wouldn't ensuring Tellot the throne get them that friend?"

"Definitely," Marqesita agreed.

But to Eries, something felt wrong. If they had the same goals, why wouldn't they work hand and hand with the Cesarian? Alucier was right though. Their plan seemed to be running in tandem with the Cesarian's. Perhaps it was only dovetailing it then, following it until the mutual goal was met and then spinning off on its own to reach another path once all the hard work was done.

So what was the goal? The minority party needed an allegiance with the crown. The Cesarian had picked Tellot as his horse and when that had fallen through, had killed Tellot for letting it happen. That was an unintended divergence though. If the Cesarian had gotten his way, Tellot would be well on his way to becoming a puppet king. It could be a matter of the Egzardian contingent not wanting to share the strings.

"You've got that look," Allen told Eries, "you think you might have something."

"Whatever you can offer us," Bennor said, "because this is eluding me."

Eries shook her head. She wasn't sure, not yet, but she felt like she was close. "This e' Kerig man…It certainly sounds as if he wanted the Cesarian's plot to unfold. Why else would he employ someone to keep Meiden guessing? But he as obviously wants his own gain from it so that working with the Cesarian wasn't prudent."

Alucier wasn't sure if Eries was making this more complicated than it had to be. "It makes sense though. He lets the Cesarian do all the dirty work and then his party moves in to save Tellot from the nasty non-Egzardians who are trying to harm the country. If that's the case, then the only thing we need to know is when and how he was planning to ingratiate himself with Tellot."

"And how illegal that would have been," Marqesita muttered.

"So can we agree that e' Kerig's plan relied on the Cesarian succeeding?" Bennor asked. "And now that…now that Tellot won't be taking the crown…we shouldn't have to worry about him?"

There were nods around, except for Eries, who still didn't believe it would be that simple. "If their plan hinged on Tellot, why wouldn't they have protected him more? After the first stage of the plan almost got Tellot killed, you would have thought they would have watched him more carefully. And really," she tossed out as an afterthought, "how would they even know so much about the Cesarian's plans to follow them so closely?"

It was a basic question, one they should have thought to ask before. Spies were suggested right off the bat. They were a standard part of political intrigue after all. Whoever this e' Kerig had working for him had to be extraordinarily adept to get the information they had though, more or less possessing the ability to come and go and overhear all they needed to hear at will.

Alucier was uncomfortably reminded of the maid Meiden had employed to spy on Eries. He still didn't know the extent of the knowledge the girl had gleaned. He also didn't know if Eries knew about her either. He doubted Meiden had brought it up.

It did give him pause to think. Without going into details to alarm Eries, Alucier said he'd heard of people using the everyday palace staff to get information because they were so ubiquitous, no one really noticed them.

"You think that's what he did?" Marqesita asked.

Eries' question was less focused. "Who have you heard do this?"

Alucier chose Marqesita's question first. Eries' wouldn't get them anywhere aside from threatening the already precarious truce she'd reached with Meiden.

While they conferred about the possibilities of others using palace staff as spies, Allen took the notion one step further. "Everyday staff… We already know e' Kerig hired a man that Meiden thought was working for him so he could keep track of him. What if he employed a similar tack against the Cesarian?"

That was a possibility. As a group they remembered what they could as the entourage that the Cesarian delegation had brought with them. It wasn't too terribly large, some assistants, some private guards, a secretary or two. None had seemed to favor one Cesarian over the other and from the general, genuine confusion that had plagued the rest of the delegation when the guards had started questioning them about _the_ Cesarian, it seemed that he had been working without his countrymen's help.

"It would have to be someone close to him," Alucier said, "someone who would be able to keep watch of him even now when things are getting dicey."

"Someone like those bastards who killed Tellot?" Marqesita asked.

"But that would mean that e' Kerig is working against the Cesarian," Allen said.

That was the sense Eries had gotten and she ran with the supposition. "Which meant he wanted another royal installed on the throne."

Bennor didn't see it. "That doesn't make any sense. If they didn't want Tellot, why wouldn't they have approached either Sita or me? We're the royals they'd have to deal with."

"Not if the Cesarian's plan had gone through," Eries said. "You and Sita would have been eliminated from succession, leaving your brother, Settim, to take the crown."

"But as I told him," Bennor argued, pointing to Alucier, "the little brat is only thirteen but he's still to cunning to get pushed around. He wouldn't be of any use to him."

"Unless he's in on it," Marqesita said.

No one answered this new accusation until Marqesita let out a long sigh. "Let's face it, being a devious weasel seems to run in our blood. And the only way any of our stepmother's children would ever even get close to the throne is to go through the three...(_two now, _she thought sadly)…of us."

"That would explain all of it," Eries continued. "If the men who attacked you and Tellot were really working for e' Kerig, then we know both how they were keeping apprised of the Cesarian's actions and why they acted contrary to his plans when they…" Eries stopped. 'Acted contrary to his plans' was a clumsy enough euphemism for Tellot's murder.

With everyone digesting this new theory, it was a while before anyone spoke. The Asturians were interested in the plausibility. The Egzardians were questioning if their step-mother really was capable of something so heinous. Marqesita wondered if she could be like Tellot, someone who'd convinced herself so completely that she was doing the right thing that all the wrong things that happened in the interim could be justified.

Except Tellot had known better in the end.

"If this is true," Allen said, "then we need to find the Cesarian. His life is likely to be in danger too."

Bennor snorted. "So?"

Allen could very much understand why Bennor would not be concerned for the Cesarian's safety. As a man, he knew the desire for revenge. As a knight, he knew the duty to stop the loss of life, even if that life belonged to a criminal like the Cesarian.

Alucier knew the duty as well and said he would go in search. Allen stopped him. "I need to take Eries back to the ballroom anyway. I can get the message out to the guards."

"Your time might be better served here anyway," Eries said, offering a meaningful nod towards Marqesita. "You do need as much information on this e' Kerig and his possible connection to their stepmother."

Half excuse, half truth, Alucier agreed to it. For the truth part, he did need to speak with Marqesita. For the excuse part, she needed to be with him. For another part entirely, he wanted to be with her.

"I'll keep your apprised," Allen promised.

As he and Eries left, Bennor, possessed as he was with his newfound empathy, took leave to his room as well.

Alucier sat down next to Marqesita, so many things to say and ask on his mind. For now, he was content to let her rest her head on his shoulder and hold her hand as they sat in the comforting silence.

0-0-0-0

The Cesarian had reached the conclusion he was in a perilous state but he had not quite determined it was as bad as Allen had predicted. As he skulked about the back halls of the palace, he was relying on his hired man to search out the areas in front him to protect him from coming across the palace guard. He hadn't the slightest clue that he should be seeking the guard while hiding from his man instead.

He was too consumed by fuming over his collapsed plans to work out the exact details of how they had collapsed. He'd been sure that he could handle Tellot's betrayal. He wasn't so confident he could get past the mistake his men had made. He had no idea how they could have screwed up so badly and confronted the idiot prince, violently at that. What had they been thinking, threatening Princess Marqesita? He'd told them Tellot was already turning on him. Pushing him over the edge like that was beyond stupid. And then to find out that Tellot had been injured!

Any dream of salvaging the plan died with that. He'd worked with the two men for over a year now. Most everyone knew they were affiliated with him. Even if Tellot died, Princess Marqesita could still identify them. And if Tellot died, once she identified the killers of her brother, all of Gaea would be out for blood. People were particular about their royals like that.

_Gods_, the Cesarian cursed inwardly, _I'm actually rooting for the stupid fool to live._

It was a bitter irony, praying for the recovery of the same hedonistic oaf that had brought him down. It just piled on top of his outrage that Tellot could be turned by a rare bout of conscious, that he could be compelled to 'do the right thing'. _The thought certainly didn't cross the bastard's mind when he dealt with my daughter, _the Cesarian seethed. Even that bit of revenge was lost to him.

Everything was lost to him. By now, his countrymen were probably being questioned and they'd soon learn of his duplicity. They wouldn't blame him for his power grab in private. They'd even commend him for his audacity. In public, they'd crucify him. They had to if they wanted save face for Cesaria. In the best case scenario, his business would become untouchable. He'd become untouchable. Contacts and contracts both drying up and disappearing and all that he'd worked for soon following suit. In the worst case scenario, he wouldn't have to worry about any of that. His concerns would be how dank his jail cell was or how close his execution date was becoming.

His man returned to his side, claiming that this part of the palace was clear. They walked in silence towards any clear exit they might be able to find. This was not an easy task. The only reason the halls were as clear as they were was because all the damn guards were at the doors.

At last, they seemed to catch a break. His man returned from scouting a long corridor and said there was no one around, an odd smile curling on his lips as he gave the report.

"What are you so damned happy about?" the Cesarian snapped. He was picturing the loss of his homes, his ships, his life. There was nothing remotely worth smiling about.

His man disagreed. He had plenty to be happy about. His mission was almost over and he had a nice paycheck waiting for him afterwards.

The Cesarian would've wiped that smirk away if he had the time. He didn't. This part of the palace was clear but it wouldn't remain so for long and the sooner he left, the better. He'd get on a leviship and leave his problems behind. Take what he could when he made it back to Cesaria and then disappear.

There, that was a plan. He would still have his life, a bit less money and bit more running from the law, but he'd still have enough to be comfortable.

And then just as he was starting to feel better, the smiling man took away even that. There was a flick of a dagger and a motion towards his throat. The knife stopped just short of cutting into his flesh. The Cesarian was to know, and appreciate, that he was being betrayed.

With scant seconds left to him, the Cesarian bargained for his life. "Whatever they're offering you, I'll pay double. I still have money. If we act quickly, I can give it to you."

"I don't want your money." The man said it with such distain that the Cesarian knew not to offer again. His only recourse now was mercy, or a miracle.

Luckily for him, miracles weren't the sole providence of the pure and the holy.

"What do you want?" a deep voice asked. The Cesarian identified it as belonging to the Caeli that frequently accompanied Princess Eries.

Allen approached the duo, his sword drawn. Eries had caught a glimpse of a man in Cesarian clothing disappearing down a hall. Since all other Cesarians were accounted for by the palace guard, this stray one had to be with who they were looking for. Or pretend to be with. The knife to the throat was a clear sign that the Cesarian had a disgruntled ex-employee.

Allen moved slowly, not wanting to provoke anyone from doing anything foolish. He was already worried that Eries had ignored his order to stay hidden in the alcove were he'd left her. He knew how eager she was for answers and he was confronting the two men in Palas who could best provide them. He knew she'd want to be in earshot.

The man with the knife balked as Allen came closer. "Stay away. I imagine you want him alive and that won't happen if you get closer to me."

"I imagine if you kill him you will lose all your bargaining power. I imagine the ensuing fight between you with a small knife and me with a sword would not go well for you."

"Listen to him," the Cesarian urged. He did not do so loudly lest he disturb the steel that pressed against his throat.

There was no compliance. Instead, the man started shuffling backwards, the Cesarian (never having heard Alucier's lecture on what to do if taken hostage) moving with him.

Allen eased up a little, removing his left hand from the hilt of his sword and bringing up in the air as a sign he was trying to cooperate. He did not want this situation to escalate, whether he could capture the man with the knife or not.

He feared it was too late for that as he heard gentle footfalls behind him and concluded Eries had let her curiosity get away from her.

"Go back," he ordered.

"You need a negotiator," Eries insisted. "And I can offer these men much better terms than you."

There were times when Allen marveled at the way Eries' mind worked. Then there were the times when he wished she wouldn't be so damned logical and would just listen to him and let him protect her.

But then she wouldn't really be Eries then, would she?

Allen dropped back, putting him a position where he could still reach the two men quickly while providing cover for Eries. While she was the brains, he still needed to be the brawn. Once settled, he advised the men, "Do as the lady tells you and you both might walk away from this."

The Cesarian was agreeable. His captor balked. "Sorry, but I see myself walking away from this no matter what you do."

"Is that so?" Eries scoffed. "Do you not know of the Caeli? The most celebrated swordsmen not only in Asturia but all of Gaea? And the one that stands before you is the finest sword they have to offer. Should you run, you will not get far."

Allen had no need to try to prove Eries' words. He held the eyes on the man with the knife in his, a steely gaze revealing a calm confidence that said Eries was not lying.

The man's own confidence faltered causing him to tighten his grip on the knife. "You need him alive," he stated.

Eries again rebuked him. "We would like him alive, yes, but we are fully aware of his crimes. His co-conspirators have all confessed. His plans are foiled. Justice would call for a fair trial but vengeance would not be so disappointed if he were to die here."

Allen knew for a fact she was bluffing but so cold and blunt was Eries' delivery that he could almost believe she meant it. The two men were completely fooled.

"Please," the Cesarian begged, "you can't know everything. I have much I could tell you."

The other man said nothing, only began calculating if his escape would really be as easy as he had thought. If the Asturians really didn't care about the Cesarian, wounding or killing him wouldn't be the distraction he'd counted on. Plus, while he'd grown familiar with the palace halls during his stay here, the Caeli was bound to know them far better.

Eries picked up on both men's nervousness. She addressed the Cesarian only. "Tellot was quite thorough in recounting your plans and the mouth of your Basramian friend opened the moment our guards approached him and has not shut since. What more could you tell us?"

_Your plans for tonight, _Eries willed at him to speak. All they knew was that he was planning something. She needed to get what that plan was.

That was the only thing the Cesarian had to offer. He wouldn't give it up quite yet. He'd been wise not to share and he was going to use that foresight for all that it was worth. "They couldn't have told you everything because I did not tell them everything. There is a plan in motion as we speak and if you do not help me, I will not be able to help you."

Eries betrayed no sign of achieving victory. She affected an almost bored tone as she asked, "And why should I believe you?"

"Who cares what you believe?" the Cesarian's captor shouted. "In case you forgot, I'm the man with the knife. Shouldn't you be talking to me?"

"I didn't forget, only remembered you as the one who's wisest choices lie in putting that knife down. You'll gain nothing by harming anyone here, save but a harsher sentence when you are tried for your crimes."

The knife lowered a fraction as he considered. He had wasted a lot of time. He should have slit the Cesarian's throat and then gone on his merry way by now. With all this talking, he was giving the Asturians a chance to close down his escape routes. It was probably too late for him if he ran now.

"And if I do let him go? What can you offer me?"

"Good," Eries said, "I'm glad you have decided to be reasonable."

It was back to a marveling time for Allen. If he had been handling this situation, he might have been able to force a resolution. He highly doubted he would have been able to have both of them eating out of his palm as Eries had done.

She didn't gloat over the obvious advantage she'd won. Things were still tenuous. She thought it best to let the Cesarian remain a hostage. Allen would be able to hold one man but a second might slip loose. Better to let them restrain each other as it were.

Determining the Cesarian's plans had the highest priority but, given how quickly the other man had folded with a less immediate threat being directed at him, she figured he would be the harder of the two to crack unless she gave him more incentive to do so. She'd go after the other one first. If the theory she'd been building since she'd heard the revelation from the assassin Meiden had hired was correct, the Cesarian's tongue would likely loosen.

She only hoped he would confess as quickly as that other assassin had. "As for what I can offer you, I assure you Asturia is far more interested in bringing the ones that hired you to justice. You, after all, are only doing a job. Your employers are the ones who wish ill upon us."

Before she could get an answer, Eries added, "Or perhaps I should say wish ill upon our allies. I believe e' Kerig is vastly more interested in controlling Egzardian politics than this summit."

It was a gamble, dropping the name ahead of getting confirmation that he actually worked for e' Kerig. No other option made sense though and if her hunch were correct, it would give the appearance that she had far more knowledge and control than she really did. She waited, nerves on the inside, ice on the outside, to see if the gamble paid off.

The Cesarian's reaction to the name wasn't much – a slight jerk of the head that could have been costly if the knife had still been pressed against his throat.

It wasn't. The name of his employer out in the open, the game was over for its holder. There would be no protection for him, nobody higher up to bail him out. The only person who could save him was himself.

And he was going to save himself.

So the story came out, demands for leniency punctuating each drabble of information. It was enlightening to Eries and Allen. The Egzardian parliament had been very busy indeed. They'd hatched this plan long ago, when the king first started showing signs of illness. They'd sent out loyal spies to various political figures around the world for the purpose of ingratiating themselves to those who's desires to meddle with Egzardia might be turned against them. The assassin Meiden had hired was one of them, the man before Eries and his deceased partners others. A plea for a shorter prison sentence was made, promised to be considered and then agents placed in Basram's delegation were revealed. The agents sent to Zaibach had been lost during the war, as had the Freidians. Fanelia (and Eries wasn't sure if Van Fanel would find this relieving or annoying) had been left out of the plot entirely due to the small roll it usually played on the world stage.

The Cesarian stood dumbfounded. All of his plotting had been for someone else's benefit. Even if he had succeeded, his victory would have been stolen from him in short order. The manipulation, the lies – all of it had meant nothing yet had cost him everything.

He noticed the knife had gone lax in his captor's hand. The man was too busy spilling his guts to keep a firm grasp. Eries and Allen were too enthralled by the unfolding story to notice. He could make an attempt to get it, reverse the hostage situation and gain a slim chance of escape. While the two Asturians acted as if they hadn't cared what happened to him, it would be an obvious bluff if they pretended they wouldn't made having their fount of information cut down.

The Cesarian though was a schemer, not a fighter. His hand was too slow and before he could get the knife away it was back at his throat and the Caeli had moved forward and brought up a sword to join it.

"Let him go," Allen advised the man with the knife, "and give me your weapon. Your cooperation has pleased the princess but she will need to see more."

Eries nodded. She'd gotten most of the information she needed; the only thing left was to determine if Marqesita was right about her step-mother. She doubted this man, with his status as a spy only, would be able to trace the plot that far back, but he and his information could still be used to intimidate those who would be able to do it. He needed to be kept alive and talkative.

But that could wait. The night was winding down and whatever the Cesarian had planned would happen sooner rather than later. She shifted her focus to him.

He only scowled and asked, "What could you possibly offer me? I know better than to believe your lies of leniency."

"True," Eries said, "the scope of your plot and the level of involvement precludes any chance of a light sentence. But you have a family don't you? A wife and children you wish to protect? To take care of?"

"Leave my family out of this," he snarled even as he realized what he was about to be offered. Without any kind of deal in place, he would not be the only person to pay for his crimes. The crumbling of his empire would take his family with it, leaving them outcast and poor.

He knew now he couldn't save himself, but maybe, if for once he practiced the sacrifices he'd always manipulated others into making, he could save them.

"The vino," the Cesarian whispered.

"What vino?" Eries demanded.

"It's in with your gifts, to be served as the final toast of the evening. It contains a weak poison…Healthy persons will only experience slight discomfort, but anyone with a weak constitution…"

Eries blanched. 'Anyone with a weak constitution' consisted of King Aston. If she had stayed at the party, the gifts would have already been brought out, the toast made. That one minor detail changed and she would have been mourning her father tonight.

She felt her anger rise along with a desire to do violence to the Cesarian. But she would not stoop to his level. Watching the man stew in the misery of his own making was revenge enough. The misery only deepened as they heard shouts from the palace guard and Allen directed them over so that they could take these criminals into custody.

When the cavalry arrived, Allen was finally able to sheath his sword. He put a reassuring hand on Eries' arm. "We should get back to the ballroom and let everyone know it's over."

One of the guards overheard and chimed in as he placed manacles on the Cesarian's hands, "You should hurry, Your Highness. Last I heard, the guests had grown tired of waiting so they had your sister begin to accept some of your gifts."

She and Allen exchanged a single, panicked look and then they were running, desperate to get to the ballroom before it was too late.

The guard who had spoken was confused. "I didn't mean hurry that fast."

0-0-0-0

In their haste, they ignored the two doorman stationed outside the ballroom and flung the doors open themselves with such force, they slammed into the walls of the ballroom with loud bang. Every head in the ballroom turned to see what was the matter.

Eries, not caring if they thought she was crazy or not, hurried over to the table holding the gifts, yelling about bottles of vino. Allen stayed right beside her every step, not saying a word before he began digging furiously through the pile.

Millerna, still in the middle of unwrapping a rare book from Basram's archives, stared at the two, a forced smile concealing a slight movement of her lips. "What do you two think you're doing?"

"Bottles of vino, Millerna, have you seen them?"

By this time, Dryden had come over to see what he could do to tone down the spectacle. It amused him to be the one trying to make everything look normal instead of the being the guy who was making everything abnormal. "There were some bottles of vino," he told Eries, "but they were sent down to the kitchens to be prepared for the final toast."

Allen stopped digging and ran off to the kitchens like a shot. Every person in the ballroom watched him go. With his hair and overskirt flaring out behind him, at least he looked impressive. Eries, on the other hand, was looking increasingly foolish even though she knew she'd been justified. She saw matching expressions of bemused alarm on her father's and Meiden's faces and knew what she had to do, appearances being all important as they were.

She forced a smile and cheery mood as she threw up her hands. "I just couldn't wait to open up all these lovely presents!"

0-0-0-0-0

Next Up: All I Want is You. Last chapter before the epilogue, can you believe it?


	35. All I Want is You

Intrigues of a Princess

XXXI: All I Want is You

Eries' party ended with a toast, but instead of raising glasses of vino to an enjoyable evening spent amongst friends and colleagues, the few people left in the ballroom simply nodded as Dryden delivered the last official words of the night. The vino that would have occupied their glasses was getting dumped into Palas' sewer system, where it would dilute into complete harmlessness. The jubilance that would have occupied the guests had fled from the moment the first whispers of Tellot's death had started.

The royal family would have preferred to wait for that particular news to be announced. While it was believed that all responsible parties had been captured, they wanted to ensure all loose ends had been tied up lest any stragglers overhear and take it as a sign to disappear. Eries wanted to wait because she thought Marqesita and Bennor needed some time to themselves before they had to deal with outsiders, however sympathetic. She remembered how people with condolences to give had crawled out of the woodwork when Marlene died. She'd understood even then that they'd meant well, but right after she'd heard the news, when the pain was still fresh, she'd only wanted to share it with those who already knew it and felt its impact the most.

The news would not be silenced though. Enough suspicion had been raised by the mingling of the palace guard in with the Basramian and Cesarian guests. No matter how entertaining the rest of the party could have been, it wouldn't have been able to assuage the spreading curiosity.

Besides, they couldn't exactly put it off until morning and then spring it on the unsuspecting summit goers. The impact of the plot was too great.

In order to deal with it, an emergency meeting was held among the remaining delegates once the other guests had left. It made for an extremely late night. General Adelphus, who had long begged off from the party, had to be summoned. The Cesarian and Basramian delegates were eager to distance themselves from their disgraced countrymen and spent too much time repudiating them and everything they stood for. They contributed little to the discussion beyond assenting to everything that Fanelia, Freid and Asturia came up with.

Egzardia, of course, had no representatives there.

Dryden suggested that Eries might act as a proxy for them. She said no. In all likelihood, Marqesita would have agreed with whatever she said but Eries thought it went too far to speak for her and Bennor. They still had their voices. The summit could wait to hear them.

The summit would wait regardless. By unanimous decision, it was decreed that the summit would go into a two week recess. They also decided that should a longer delay be necessary – and given that Marqesita and Bennor would need time to bury both their father and their brother as well as deal with a potentially traitorous step family, it probably would be – that any country could request one.

They were dismissed then with a pledge to convene tomorrow morning so they could go over any last minutes changes when they were more awake. Poor Chid, up later than any child his age should ever be up, had stifled yawn after yawn. A few of the grown-ups had that problem too.

Surprisingly, Aston was not one of them. Millerna had tried to get him to go to bed when the rest of the guests left, but he'd insisted on sticking around. He hadn't been to a single summit meeting; he thought he might as well put in an appearance at the one that would take place right in front of him. He didn't actively participate; he just stayed at the royal table while the meeting went on in the middle of the room. Meiden stayed with him. They both wanted to see how their children would handle this delicate situation.

They had much to be proud of. Dryden, in respect to the gravity of the nights' event, had been all business, displaying a skill and ease of leadership that had Meiden beaming. He'd addressed concerns while keeping the discussion moving. Even where the obvious jokes had presented themselves, he'd kept his sharp tongue firmly in check rather than cheek. Almost exhausted by this point, Eries had more or less let him run everything, only chipping in when she felt it absolutely necessary.

Aston nonetheless found reason to approve of this less showy performance. As the meeting broke up and she came back over to the royal table, he asked her why she'd let Dryden do most of the talking.

"Wasn't talking two criminals into revealing their plots and surrendering enough?" she asked back.

"You know that officially, you won't be getting your due credit. The report on this will likely attribute everything to the various Caeli who were assigned to this investigation. Asturia likes her princesses to be a bit demurer than that."

Eries didn't care. She'd done her part gladly. Saving her father's life was all that counted for her. She could live without any public accolades. She'd prefer it actually, especially if it meant Alucier would be getting a reputation boost out of it.

Aston listened to her rationale, understood it and accepted it. But there was still one more piece he wanted to hear from Eries. "So you don't mind if your friends receive the praise for your hard work?"

"They worked hard too, Father. Besides, isn't this exactly how you wanted me to serve Asturia? From behind the scenes?"

Aston grinned. She'd gotten it. No matter what the public record said, behind closed doors, in the seat of Asturia's power where it really mattered, the real version would circulate endlessly as gossip, always carrying the message that Eries Aria Aston was not a woman to be trifled with. That she wasn't clamoring for attention showed what a calm operator she was.

"Oh, Father," Eries sighed at Aston's obvious pleasure in her heroics. "You'd think you would be most grateful that we were able to get rid of the vino before you drank it."

"I like that part too," Aston insisted. "But forgive in old man for showing pride in his daughter's achievements."

"More like excitement in what he perceives to be her future achievements."

"That too, dear daughter. That too…" And such was his belief in those future achievements that his excitement lasted through Allen joining them at the table to ask if they were ready to turn in. It even lasted through the two of them taking him back to his room, through having to lean on Allen as they ascended the stairs while Eries trailed carrying the wheelchair.

Once settled into bed, Aston wondered if it could last forever.

0-0-0-0

By morning, an epic tale involving dashing knights foiling the heinous plots of substantially less dashing evil politicians was making its way through the palace's gossip mill. As Aston had predicted, Eries was hardly mentioned and when she was, it wasn't for her keen negotiating skills. The story instead had her as a threatened bystander saved by the valiant actions of the Knights Caeli. That Allen had be the only Caeli actually present at the capture was a minor detail quickly glossed over. When Eries heard the latest version of the tale from the handmaidens who brought her breakfast, Revius had magically appeared to make it a tag team effort. One of the women asked Eries if Alucier was there too as she had heard from her friend who worked in the laundry who'd heard it from her friend who worked in the stables.

The embellishments weren't surprising. Their looks and charm had won Allen and Revius renown amongst women while their prowess with a sword appealed to the men. Alucier also had his fans, meaning the friend of a friend's rumor was likely to be gospel fact soon.

Eries didn't do anything to stop it from happening. She was amused enough by the fact that it had taken four to bring her breakfast this morning when it usually only took one. She guessed the chance of spotting one of the hero Caeli had lured the extra ladies up to her room. It also kept them there. Typically, once breakfast had been set up, the handmaiden would ask if Eries needed anything and then leave, only coming back to clean up the dishes an hour or so later. Today, the table was being stubborn as it needed cleaning and resetting several times over and no one was in a hurry to go.

Unfortunately, the ladies would have to wait. Her normal Caeli guests were running late. Alucier was – and would be for quite some time – filling out reports for the official record on the incident. It wasn't the most pleasant of tasks, but he was glad he'd been given leave to do the paperwork from the relative comfort of the sitting room for the Egzardian delegation instead of Lord Ramkin's office. Alucier had been there all night and wasn't the only one who'd be upset if he had to leave.

Allen was occupied with getting Celena to wake up so Gaddes could finally take her home. With how late the party had run and the numerous spare rooms in the palace, she'd spent the night. She wasn't the easiest person to rouse. Allen had two small pillows thrown at him and been called a 'meanie' before he gave up and gave her until he returned from breakfast to sleep in. He very purposefully mentioned the food that was likely to be served at Eries' table but the temptation didn't overcome Celena's laziness. Gaddes, however, mentioned that he wouldn't mind having some fresh baked bread and jam.

Revius was like Celena. He could have gotten up and been there bright and early but chose not to. Breakfast at Tuvello's plus extra sleep was the equal for a breakfast of kings.

By the time Allen did finally arrive – alone to Celena's sleepy pleasure and to the displeasure of Gaddes' empty stomach – the handmaidens had given up on catching a glimpse of a handsome hero and gone back to work. The object of their admiration was grateful for it. Allen was no stranger to the attention of women certainly, but there was really only one woman he wanted to be with this morning. So much had happened in so little time they needed the chance to be alone together.

But after they settled at the breakfast table, Eries couldn't let him off without a little teasing. "I hear you single handedly captured the villains and negotiated peace on Gaea."

"Don't forget the part where I won the heart of the fair princess," he added.

"That happened a while ago… I think you're embellishing your accomplishments."

"Very true," he sighed. "In fact, it was that fair princess who won the day."

"And your heart as well?"

"That happened a while ago."

"Charmer," Eries teased but in truth, it was taking a considerable amount of willpower to remain seated across the table from him. She wanted to be much closer and, after indulging a particularly wicked thought, not at the table.

They both stayed as they were. They didn't know when a handmaiden or a stray Caeli might pop in. They picked at their food between exchanges of thoughts on Tellot, the conspiracy and how the summit might go forward.

"I still can't believe that Tellot was involved in that plot," Eries said with a disbelieving shake of her head.

"I don't think it's that farfetched," Allen argued. "For all his excesses, he was basically good natured. I don't think he saw the true evil in the Cesarian until it was too late and then he felt trapped."

"When did you become so good at analyzing people?"

"I've been listening to master for some years now. I suppose some of it sunk in."

"You really are going for the flattery this morning," Eries noted. It was by no means a suggestion that he stop. Eries did, however, want to give some credit to him.

"Thank you for letting me speak last night. I know you probably wanted to get me as far from there as possible."

"Yes," he admitted. "If I could have, I would have picked you up and carried you away. But…"

"But?"

"I knew you could handle it, much better than I could. All I could have done was bring two injured prisoners in. We never would have found out about the vino. And your father and who knows how many other guests…"

Eries didn't want to think about it. She'd already put in enough time playing that particular morbid game of 'what if' since the Cesarian had confessed. "And I couldn't have intimated them as well as I did without you backing me up. It's a good thing we make such a good team then," she said to cut off any speculating. "I think Father might have noticed that too."

"I did notice a pronounced lack of insults last night when we were escorting him back to his room. And," he turned serious, "he normally doesn't like to show any kind of vulnerability to anyone, especially me."

That hadn't escaped Eries' attention either. She wasn't ready to attribute it to a change in her father's attitude towards Allen yet though. The man had just come close to being poisoned after all. His attitude was bound to have been more charitable than usual. It was still a hopeful sign and if there was a chance she could get that attitude to extend for more than one night, she'd do whatever it took.

Caution, however, seemed to be the best course for the moment. "Never mention that to him though," she said. I'm afraid it'll only spur him to show you how vulnerable you are."

Allen paused, letting the piece of bread he'd been nibbling on soak up jam. "I know it's foolish to think he'll ever like me, but I would like to believe that someday he'll tolerate me. I don't want for us to have to be together in secret just waiting for him to…" His bread chose that moment to begin to disintegrate into jam mush, giving him an excuse not to finish his thought.

It didn't need to be finished to be understood. Eries wasn't that pessimistic. "I don't believe it will come to that. This sounds utterly calculating, I know, but for my father's plans for retaining our family's political power to come true, he's going to need me to cooperate."

"Blackmailing him into accepting me," Allen sighed, "he'll hate me worse than ever."

"It's not blackmail," Eries insisted, employing some Meiden-esque rationale. "I'd simply be outlining the wisest course of action somewhat forcibly."

He laughed at her semantic contortions even as his heart warmed at the sentiment behind them. "You would do that for me? Risk alienating your father and who knows what public scandal just so we wouldn't have to hide anymore?"

"I get some benefit from it as well," she teased, but she couldn't stay so unserious for long. "You're willing to wait. Jichian willing, Father will live for many years to come."

"You've already spent too many years waiting for me to realize who I had right in front of me."

"Which is why I don't want to wait any longer."

Allen sat back, letting his hand rest over the pocket in his overskirt which contained the package he'd intended to give Eries last night. In all the excitement, he'd held onto to it instead. It felt right to have waited. All that they had discussed seemed to lead right to the gift he was about to give and the speech that went with it.

He took the small pouch from his pocket and placed it on the table, instantly arousing Eries' curiosity. The initial embroidered in the velvet of the pouch belonged to a rival of Micah Revius' and it wasn't too much of an assumption to guess what was inside.

But guessing that it was jewelry did not illuminate the significance of that jewelry. Allen began the presentation, picking up on where Eries' last words had taken them.

"I know I can't make the wait any shorter, but I can promise that I will wait with you for however long it takes," he said. He handed the bag over to her to open, adding, "I can't claim this was entirely my idea either. My mother originally gave Father something similar after they'd married."

More curious than ever, Eries reached inside and pulled out what looked like a pocket watch on a silver chain. When she opened it, she discovered that while it dutifully ticked off the seconds, there were no numbers upon its face and no hands to mark them. There only marking on it was an inscription: _Every Second Beside You, Even When Apart._

"I suppose it would mean more with the whole story," he continued. "You see, Mother knew Father would be going away on his trips and she wanted to support him and show that she would wait for him, no matter how long it took him to find what he was after. So the first time he went away, she gave him a watch. This one didn't measure hours, but days, and it could be set to count down to a specific day, so that Father would how long it would be until he was back with Mother again."

_Such devotion_, Eries thought. Such love too, though tinged with the sadness of being separated from one another. To have to set such a watch and know that it would be that long until you saw your loved one again – the pathos seemed very appropriate of what she knew of Encia Schezar. Her son seemed to have inherited the romanticism but there was a key difference in the two gifts. "My watch doesn't count anything at all though," Eries said.

"No, it doesn't need too." He got up to stand behind Eries. He gently took the watch from her and undid the chain so that he could place it around her neck. "The inscription on my father's watch read _Counting the Seconds Until We Are Together Again. _An appropriate message for their situation, but not for ours."

He led Eries over to the mirror so she could see how her new necklace looked. He embraced her from behind, his arms entwined around her waist while he bent his head to whisper in her ear, "Because no matter what our status may be in public, no matter what opposition we might face to change it, no matter if your father exiles me to the farthest reaches of Gaea, we are not apart and that watch is my promise to you that we never will be."

"That almost sounds like a proposal," Eries said, sniffling even as she laughed.

"I can't offer that just yet, but the moment I can…"

Eries recalled the thoughts she allowed herself to have recently and the dreams she'd lived with ever since she was that awkward girl who'd gotten her first glance at the sullen, pony-tailed boy who would occupy so much of her life. She could feel a similar excitement and fascination rise in her again as she studied the man and the woman in the mirror. It was not the giddiness of what could be though. It was the joy of knowing what was.

She kissed him softly, let her fingertips run across his growing smile. "And the moment I can, I will answer yes."

0-0-0-0-0

Though he would have liked to have stayed longer, eventually the call of duty had to be heeded and Alucier had to leave Marqesita's side. It had been a long night watching over her when she had been able to grab fitful moments of sleep and talking with her when she had not. He'd learned more about her family than he had ever thought he'd want to learn, including damn near all of Tellot's life story. He'd listened to every word and like Marqesita, was sad when that life story fell pitifully short. He would have listened to it all over again too if that would have made her felt better, but Marqesita insisted she was all right for now and a direct summons from Lord Ramkin was a hard thing to ignore.

He gave it his best to put it off for a while though. "You're sure you're okay?" he asked Marqesita while lingering at the door.

"As sure as I was when you asked me a minute ago," she answered. "And even when you asked two minutes ago. If you're tactic is to annoy me until I won't miss you, you're off to a wonderful start."

She didn't act annoyed unless she was the kind of woman to act out annoyance by brushing out his bangs with her fingers. It would take more work than that to make Alucier truly presentable. His torn and bloodied overskirt had been thrown out along with his gloves and his cravat had doubled as a handkerchief for Marqesita. What was left of his uniform was rumpled from spending most of last night not sleeping in a chair. That lack of sleep was plain upon his face though Marqesita didn't seem to mind as she studied it fondly.

"You're a mess," she concluded warmly. "A kind, sweet, amazing mess. Disheveled sort of suits you."

He wondered what she would have done if disheveled had really suited him because the kiss she gave him carried with it no small amount of enthusiasm.

"You make it really hard to leave," he whispered.

"Of course, I want to make sure you come back."

As Alucier kissed her back, he realized Marqesita would never have any trouble making him want to return.

0-0-0-0-0

Despite Alucier's lateness, Lord Ramkin's office was not wanting for occupants. Seated in a half-ring in front of his desk were Aston, Meiden, Dryden, Eries, Allen and the head interrogator from the palace prison. Revius hung back at the door on the lookout for his tardy friend while Lord Ramkin himself paced behind his desk thinking this had been a hell of a way to end to career.

Not much was being said as they wanted everyone to be present when they began forming the official story that would be told when the summit started. The attendees were also a bit grumpy from the late night and being torn away from their breakfasts to hold this meeting. The notable exceptions to this were Allen, who kept an impassive expression, and Eries, who tried to match but couldn't help letting out a small smile from time to time. Aston noted the smiling seemed to coincide with her touching that new necklace she was wearing.

Alucier finally arrived, excusing the flush on his cheeks by indicating he had rushed right over.

"You certainly didn't waste time getting properly dressed," Meiden muttered.

Alucier didn't care. His mood was too good and men who wore loose brown robes everywhere didn't have much of a right to complain about other people's messy appearances anyway.

_I'm a mess, _he allowed himself to think before sitting and getting down to business.

The interrogator wasted no time in repeating what he'd learned from his two prisoners. From the Egzardian man, he'd gleaned little information beyond what Eries had been able to extract. This information dug the hole for the Parliament member e' Kerig a little deeper. There was nothing tracing the plot back further to Marqesita's stepfamily. Eries had hoped that part would be taken care of for the grieving siblings but it looked like they would have to finish that investigation themselves. Asturian authority only extended so far.

The Cesarian, so wily while making his plans, had given into his defeat entirely once in his prison cell. He had spoken freely and at length, as if upon have his fate sealed to go down, he would go down in the biggest blaze of glory he could muster.

As it turned out, he'd known about Eries' alliances with Marqesita and Van Fanel, with Dryden partaking as well once he'd returned. The Cesarian had even suspected Nuri's involvement but hadn't been entirely sure because 'how uptight Freidian monks are'. Whoever was involved, he'd pegged Eries as the center. Meiden had a good chuckle over his foe's insight. Eries snapped at Meiden that if he hadn't plotted anything to begin with, neither would she. Before it devolved further, Dryden casually asked Alucier if he remembered the night when he'd gone over to the Fassa estate with him and Eries and discussed 'some truce thing'.

That quieted the two bickerers but Aston had a laugh over the momentary flare up. He did not laugh for long. The interrogator began explaining why the vino had been poisoned and the king became chilled as he was reminded of how terribly close he'd come to dying last night.

Aston had been the main target of the poison. With the king assassinated in the middle of the summit, Asturia would have been thrown into panic. The Prince Regent would be consumed by the duties of succession. The king's older daughter would be too busy to play at conspiracies. The interrogator reluctantly added that the Cesarian expected there would be a great deal of strife created when the Prince Regent's father made his own plays for power. Meiden did not find that particular assumption insightful or worthy of a chuckle.

There would have been other steps towards the dissolution of the Cesarian's main political opposition, but this was to be the first, most important strike. If it had gone through, it likely would have met with some success too. Aston swallowed a not small amount of pride and thanked Allen for his role in not only saving his life, but for preserving Asturia's political stability.

He wasn't too generous though, talking over Allen's humble acceptance of Aston's gratitude to thank Eries more profusely. "You really must have been on to something grand for him to do something so drastic just to be rid of you," Aston concluded proudly.

"Oh, yes, it was marvelous," Meiden complained. "Nearly got her father killed but wasn't she crafty!"

His near-death still too recent to be shrugged off easily, Aston dropped further praise. The interrogator was dismissed. Revius and Allen were instructed to wait outside. Those that remained were now going to translate the facts of the matter into the facts of the story the rest of the world would hear.

It was agreed between Aston and Lord Ramkin that the Caeli-centric version already in circulation as gossip be given official credence. Alucier, as head of the investigation, would be given primary credit for its successful conclusion. Ever modest, Alucier pointed out that he only uncovered Egzardia's parliament's involvement and that Eries deserved as much if not more recognition for that. For the other guilty parties, if not for Tellot's confession, they might have not been uncovered before it was too late.

"Oh, please," Aston grumbled. "Is Egzardia going to be advertising Tellot's involvement?"

Marqesita and Bennor hadn't made a final decision on how to present Tellot's death, but they had said they'd put more emphasis on him foiling the conspiracy rather than being part of it if they mentioned it at all. It was possible they'd simply say he'd come to Marqesita's rescue during an attack and leave it at that. In either case, they weren't going to say anything that contradicted the version Aston preferred.

Alucier answered 'no' and with a clap of his hands, Aston pronounced everything decided.

"Not quite," Lord Ramkin said. "I have two more things I would like to discuss. First, I would like to suggest a commendation for Allen Schezar. As it is our intent to downplay Princess Eries' role, it might behoove us to celebrate his."

"I'm for it," Eries added quickly.

Aston was not nearly so enthusiastic. Dryden didn't have any problems with it though so even if Meiden agreed with his friend, the dissenters would be outvoted three to two.

Asturia, however, was not a democracy. Aston could be outvoted a million to one and he'd still get the final say. But he was not a tyrant and he could see the advantage of giving Allen's image a boost. It would make the story look good.

And, Aston begrudgingly admitted, Allen wasn't to going to be going away anytime soon if Eries had her say in it. Might as well have the knight look half-way respectable if he was going to be hanging around the palace.

"All right," he relented. "We'll give Schezar a medal – a big, ugly medal. It'll be a small ceremony though. We don't want to overshadow your to-do Maerzen."

Alucier didn't dare ask what that to-do was. If it wasn't what he was hoping it was, he didn't know how he'd react. Nerves, sleep deprivation and crushing disappointment could lead to anything.

As it turned out, nerves, sleep deprivation and exhilaration could lead to some pretty wild things too. When Lord Ramkin announced that he would recommend Alucier as his successor and Aston assented, Alucier nearly jumped out of his chair to hug both of the men. He did stand up rather suddenly and awkwardly and demanded to know if they were kidding him.

"I mean, I know you're not kidding," he stammered, trying to recover gracefully. "I just wanted to express my surprise and great appreciation for your decision." It took an extreme amount of discipline to not add a loud 'Wheeeee!' to that.

Lord Ramkin didn't hold the enthusiasm against him. The night when he'd been notified as his promotion to commander, he and his wife had stayed up until dawn celebrating. "You're welcome. But you needn't be surprised. You earned this post and I gladly leave it to you."

He received a round of formal congratulations and then Lord Ramkin suggested that Allen and Revius be invited in for more boisterous accolades. Aston and Meiden took it as a cue to leave with Lord Ramkin joining them. Dryden stuck around for kicks to see how the ultra dignified Caeli would act and was not disappointed. Alucier got a hug first from Allen and then Revius, who not only embraced him but picked him up and spun him around.

"Yes! No Fortanen!" was Revius' somewhat dubious victory cry.

Amongst friends, it was one of the sweetest things he could say.

0-0-0-0-0

By evening the palace had begun to empty out. General Adelphus, not being the dallying kind, had arranged for departure right after the brief midday summit meeting. Basram's delegation had left shortly after. Their haste to leave seemed to have less to do with military precision than the desire to put as much distance between them and their fallen colleague as quickly as possible. The damage control they'd done in Asturia would have to continue once they arrived home, albeit with the goal to save individual face instead of their country's. After all, no one wanted to be linked to the person who weakened their already tenuous position.

The Cesarian delegation left next. While the Basramians had asked about the legal situation of the delegate they were leaving behind and the possibility of arranging for charges to be brought in Basram, the Cesarians had taken off without so much as a single query. They were happy to let their countryman rot if it made them look better.

With three gone, three delegations were left. Fanelia was so nearby, Van wasn't in any rush to leave. He did send his advisor, Megid, home in the evening. Merle naturally stayed with her lord. Any curiosity as to why Van chose to remain for an extra night was resolved when he approached Allen with a friendly invitation for a duel. He claimed he'd been getting rusty sitting in a council hall all day.

Chid would have stayed regardless but once word got out of a rematch between Van and Allen, he had extra incentive. He'd only heard about their first duel from Nuri. He wasn't going to miss a chance to see a second.

As for Egzardia, they weren't showing any real enthusiasm to leave. Tellot's body was still being prepared for transport home and they were still preparing for how to tell the country that they had lost both their king and a prince. Bennor was anticipating getting to know more about his step family while Marqesita was dreading opening that particular can of worms. But it had to be done. Furthermore, she would have to be the one to lead it.

For tonight though, she'd enjoy the spectacle of two highly skilled swordsmen putting said skill on full display while relaxing in the company of the one man who made her feel as if there were nothing she was not capable of overcoming.

Spots on the rooftop began filling up after dinner. The other Caeli, having been gathered by Lord Ramkin earlier, had a reason to celebrate and this duel felt like a good way to do so. They entertained the gathering crowd with preliminary bouts. The fights began at dusk but since there weren't that many Caeli to begin with let alone Caeli who'd earned their rank the hard way, the audience was hungry for more challengers by the time the torches were being lit. A few of the hopefuls from the tournament obliged.

It was unknown when the tournament would start again. If the sparring matches tonight were any indication, it wouldn't be necessary. Sedgewick won his matches against the other hopefuls readily, then began taking on actual Caeli. Seclas took the upstart to a draw in their first match but couldn't outdo him in the second. Fortanen, eager to prove his worth after missing out on a promotion, stepped in next. He took the first match. Victory eluded him on the second.

There were calls for more Caeli to fight – led by Chid with some surprising encouragement by Nuri – but they went unheeded. Revius was talking up a handmaiden near the corner of the roof where the torchlight barely reached. Allen was saving his all for his match with Van. At least, that was the excuse he gave. In reality, he was rather enjoying watching the matches with Eries.

Celena and Gaddes were there too, of course. Somehow she'd talked him out of taking her home. More impressively, she'd talked him into partaking in a shadow duel. The ridiculousness garnered the attention of most everyone on the roof with the notable exception of Allen. He couldn't get his attention to focus anywhere but the woman at his side. Eries was wrapped up tightly in a cloak to keep warm as night fell but her clothing underneath wasn't quite as toasty. As a thank you for the watch and the promise that went with it, she'd worn one the gowns Marqesita had given her. Contrary to Marqesita's prediction, Allen had done the blushing.

No one thought twice of Eries being bundled up or what she could possibly be wearing under the cloak. For Eries, that made it that much more exciting. She was careful not to get too excited though. One slip of the cloak and she'd be running for her room faster than Sedgewick could swing his sword.

The novice's string of victories and close losses came to a close when Revius finally picked up the challenge. The first match actually ended with Sedgewick sprawled on the roof while Revius bowed. The end of the second wasn't quite as definitive as Sedgewick was still standing when Revius pointed his blade at the younger man's throat.

He was gracious in defeat though, thanking Revius for the excellent fight and everyone on the roof for their support. His words of gratitude took on an especially sincere air when they were directed in Celena's direction. It would have been a romantic gesture if it hadn't flown right over the intended recipient's head. Right as Sedgewick was proclaiming the inspiration he found within the crowd, Celena was waving her hands back and forth in what would have been a vicious blow to Gaddes if she were actually holding anything.

"Come on," Revius called, "I need a challenge!" He gestured at various men in the crowd but few wanted to pick a fight they were so unlikely to win. He was about to give up when Alucier arrived on the roof. "Luc! Perfect timing!"

Alucier's guest did not think so and Alucier shared her sentiment by declining. He led Marqesita over to a corner where she could watch the duel without having to deal with anybody but him. Alucier spread out a blanket he'd thoughtfully brought along so they could sit without the cold stone of the palace chilling them. He'd brought along some food too and as he spread it out, he couldn't help notice that with the torchlight, it looked like he was setting up a romantic picnic.

Marqesita's mood though didn't seem set to romance. "To think," she mused, "the last time we were up here, Eries and I were hatching this big plan and Tellot was collecting handmaidens."

"Wasn't that long ago, was it, yet so much has changed."

"Yes," she said in a sigh, "It really makes you appreciate the divide between today and yesterday."

"What about the future?"

"You had to bring that up, didn't you?"

"I had a feeling you were leading me there anyway."

She nodded. Tomorrow, she'd be going back to Egzardia. It would be another two weeks until she saw Alucier again and that was assuming that she would be able to return to the summit on time – a rather large assumption given all that lied before her.

And yet having this one little conversation with a man she'd written novels to, had spoken the lengths of plays with seemed more daunting than burying two of her family and settling the succession of the crown.

Alucier started, more chitchat than the heart of the matter but Marqesita was thrilled with the news. "Lord Ramkin named me his successor. In a month, I'll be Commander of the Caeli."

"I knew you'd get it," she said. She'd been telling him that since he'd mentioned the post to her but it a relief to be able to state it as a fact. "So what comes with the job? After this nightmare, I'd think it would be a fair bit easier to manage a group of well-healed knights."

"It's more than the Caeli. I'll have a say in all doings of the army. I get to consult with the king. I even get a seat on the council. It's entirely ceremonious, of course, but if I want to sit in a council session and bore myself silly, I will have the option."

"Something tells me your Lord Ramkin never exercised that option."

"Not a single time," Alucier laughed. "I'll have that big office for real too, no more borrowing it. I believe I'll get a small stipend to redecorate it."

"Please tell me you'll go higher end then those dilapidated heaps of wood and clothe you call furniture at your apartment."

"Those are Revius and for the record, he's been pilfering a higher class of stuff from his parents' house lately. And even more for the record, the furniture in my bedroom is quite nice."

"I would have known that if you'd ever invited me in."

"Sita…"

And there they were again, back to the subject they were and weren't supposed to talk about. They used the distraction of the first match between Allen and Van finally getting started to delay it further. As their friends danced across the roof, their swords almost forming rhythm of constant clanging as they attacked and parried, Alucier and Marqesita feigned an intense interest in each move. The ruse was exposed for the procrastination that it was when the match ended in a draw and neither noticed.

The duelists took a break. Despite its anticlimactic end, that one match had taken longer than several of the other duels put together. Allen and Van needed a chance to catch their breath.

"Must be exciting for you to watch two masters in your field," Marqesita offered.

"Yeah, it's nice but….maybe we shouldn't talk about duels or Caeli anymore…"

"You want to talk about me."

"We can't put it off forever."

"You underestimate people in denial."

"Sita…"

She had one piece of news to share first. It was an astoundingly large piece of news but its importance to Marqesita at the moment was in how Alucier would react.

"Bennor and I had a long talk this morning after you left. We're still suspicious of our stepfamily but face the very real possibility that we'll never be able to prove a thing. So Bennor decided we should be pragmatic and make it a priority that they will not get anywhere near the crown."

"Bennor decided?"

"Yes, he decided that he would not contest succession passing to me."

It took a few moments for that to sink in for Alucier. Bennor being selfless was as strange of a concept as Tellot being cunning. Yet both had occurred, one to great tragedy, the other to great jubilance.

On his end, at least. As Alucier congratulated Marqesita, she downplayed becoming queen as a business proposition. Explaining the compromise she and Bennor had reached, it sounded if she had reason to treat it that way.

"He won't contest me becoming queen, but my first official act is to create a new position that oversees Parliament and has substantial influence over the throne."

"Let me guess who you're appointing to the post…"

"You don't need to," Marqesita said. "It is a blatant power grab on his part, but when it comes down to it, he could have tried to grab power in much worse ways. And still…I'd rather be queen than in his position. I get a really big stipend to redecorate my office."

"And this way, you get to keep Parliament in check."

"Exactly our thinking. On the surface, it'll look like the two of us divvying up power, but really it's the easiest way to keep Parliament firmly under our heels. We considered naming the post Supreme Parliamentary Overlord but thought it too unsubtle." She smiled. "You're better at this political crap than you think."

"Hang around Eries long enough and it sort of rubs off on you. Or you, really. You must be pretty canny yourself to get Bennor to agree to the lesser position."

"Well, I did make one concession. A rather large one to some people, but I can see some advantage in it."

Alucier waited for her to elaborate but the second match started up and she was happy to watch Allen and Van fight for some time before speaking.

She said it casually, as if she'd made complete peace with her decision and had no intention of reconsidering it. "I get to be queen but after that, succession will pass through Bennor."

Alucier stared, clearly not as content as she was. "You're going to let your line get passed over for the crown just like that?"

"My line? Ugh, that's about the worst thing I've ever heard you say."

"I didn't mean it like the typical queen, princess brooding mare thing. You know that. I just thought you'd want for any children you had to be able to get the throne."

"I want for my hypothetical children to be happy. I don't want to get into any 'okay, you were born first so you automatically get everything' favoritism or even worse, having to tell the firstborn, 'sorry, kid, you're not good enough for the crown'. When…if…I have children, they'll still have an incredibly easy life of power and wealth. They just won't have to deal with the petty squabbling that I went through with my brothers. I don't ever want any child of mine to become as desperate as Tellot.

"There's another advantage too," she continued. She wasn't speaking as quickly and definitively as before. This was shakier ground. "My children, because they're out of the running for the throne, wouldn't necessarily have to be full-blooded Egzardians."

She placed a cautious hand on Alucier's knee in case he hadn't gotten the full implication. Alucier was normally quicker than that but she could be forgiven for thinking he might not be because he was currently staring off into space, slack-jawed and without a single thought in his head, unless 'whuh?' could be considered a thought.

Marqesita couldn't resist the urge to tease him. "I want to get started right away – need to if I'm going to get that huge pack that I always dreamed of."

Alucier regained some speech though he was still limited to one syllable words with a bold foray here and there into two syllables. Coherency wasn't terribly high either. "You're…joke…right? Morning…first kiss…You…we…Kids?"

"Yes, I was joking, more on that last part than the first. You can resume higher brain function now."

"But you never…I mean…how would that work?"

"Hmm, I thought with your large family and Revius as a roommate, you'd know by now."

Her jibing might not be appropriate for what they were discussing but it was helping to shake Alucier out of his fog. "Come on, nothing's changed except we're even higher profile people than before. You'd still be in Egzardia. I'd still be here. You're throwing an even bigger complication into an already large mess."

"I wouldn't call it a mess," she said, genuinely hurt. "It did look that way before and I was almost ready to give up myself, but then Tellot…and I thought…" She didn't know how to articulate what was so clear to her heart so she explained it all in a rush. "You were there with me and you were like a reminder that no matter how much it hurt, there would a time when it wouldn't. You know how when something awful happens, everyone wants to pat you on the back and tell you that it's going to be all right? As I said, you were there with me and I already knew that without you having to say a thing. I don't want to ever to give that up."

"But how do we not? I hate to be the pessimist but we can't change geography and rules of society just because we want to."

"I'm going to be queen, Alucier. Changing the rules of society is what royalty does. As long as I keep my people safe and happy, they won't care who I'm with and what I do with him. It'll be grand entertainment for them."

"Okay, let's pretend that'll work. We've got rules of society covered but we still have geography to contend with. I don't think I can turn down Commander of the Caeli."

"And I would never ask you to. Hell, it will probably make the gossip that much juicier."

"So? I can't be two places at once. Maybe if you were as close as Fanelia we could make it work but-"

"But leviships go back and forth from here to Egzardia every day. And isn't the perk of an Asturian Lord that you'll get lots of holidays? I know as queen, I'll have loads of time to travel, especially with Bennor keeping Parliament under his thumb."

"Will it be enough?"

"Better than nothing."

"Better than nothing," Alucier repeated. It was true. Ever since his talk with Eries, he'd been arguing the logic of simply letting her go. He shouldn't be so tempted by the illogic of trying to hold on.

But the prospect of nothing was too bleak.

So used to being the voice of reason, he argued almost out of reflex. "What if it doesn't work? What if the distance is too much?"

"Then we acknowledge it and move on with our lives knowing that at least we tried. It's not the end I want but I certainly prefer it to the ending in which we spend our lives always wondering what might have happened."

"But-"

"It would be one thing if we both still had the expectation of having to marry but we're both past that. We've achieved the highest rank we can possibly hope to obtain without finding a 'suitable' spouse. We're free."

He wanted to believe that, more than anything.

So he did.

He took Marqesita's hand and placed a kiss upon it. "I've never been an object of gossip before. It might be fun."

"Then do it right," Marqesita said. She flung his hand away and grabbed him by the cravat, pulling him close. "Give them a reason to gossip."

So he did.

Wrapped up in their kiss, neither Alucier nor Marqesita noticed the attention of the crowd moving towards them. The crowd didn't notice them either because they were focused on Van and Allen who had moved their epic struggle over to that snug corner of the roof. The soon to be queen of Egzardia and the equally soon to be Commander of the Caeli weren't much competition for the rapid clashing of swords. Van lunged, causing Allen to counter with a blow that brought both their swords to the ground. Van immediately spun, freeing his sword from underneath Allen's so he could strike again from a higher point. Allen couldn't bring his sword up quickly enough to counter but easily danced out the way. The rotation had left Van opened and Allen took the opportunity to dance back into place and take the strike that would end the match in his favor.

Or he tried to. The sudden appearance of two men wrapped in battle did cause Alucier and Marqesita to become aware of the world around them again. As they moved back to give the two duelists room, Marqesita accidentally tipped over a bottle of vino that went rolling right into the path of Allen's foot.

Allen didn't notice it until he'd slipped on it. He stumbled forward, right into the path of the sword Van held in front of him in preparation of defending against Allen's attack. He tried to pull it out of the way and mostly succeeded save for the small tip that poked slightly into a spot indecently high up on Allen's thigh.

It was a minor wound that caused all sorts of large reactions from nearly everyone except Allen, who only winced. Van and Marqesita began apologizing profusely. Merle declared her Van-sama's grand victory. Eries sprinted across the roof in a most un-Ice Princess like fashion. Celena ran alongside her in a most incredibly Celena like fashion. Gaddes headed for the stairs, pledging to find medical help for his Fallen Yet Still Standing without Any Sort of Aid and Not Even in Much Pain Leader.

A crowd immediately formed around them, gasping and pointing. Chid, too short to see what was happening had to rely on reports from Nuri. Like Allen, the monk was of the firm opinion that it was a small scratch and nothing to worry about.

Revius stood near the Freidians and the surveyed the crowd with a smirk. "Man," he whispered so he wouldn't have to explain the joke to Chid but feeling it nevertheless had to be made, "Another inch and Eries would have been pissed."

0-0-0-0

The second most annoying thing about Allen's injury was the location and the jokes some people (not just, but mostly Revius) felt compelled to make about it. The most annoying thing was the crowd it attracted.

He'd insisted he was fine and proved it by walking to the infirmary with just the slightest of limps but everyone else insisted on operating on the principle it was better to be safe than sorry. He was almost shoved into bed while would be caregivers hovered about him to ensure he wouldn't suddenly slouch over dead. Surprisingly, Eries was doing most of the hovering. Allen thought she knew better than that but apparently her concern was outweighing her need to be discreet.

More surprisingly, Celena was covering for and trying to nudge Eries in the right direction by pretending that the princess was really looking after her, not Allen. "Really, Eries, you don't have to worry about me," Celena announced to the crowd. "I know Allen isn't that hurt. Natal got him worse on the shoulder than what Van managed to do."

From within the crowd, Merle took umbrage at that suggestion that Van was less than skilled at inflicting injuries even as Van was relieved. He made one final apology before taking his leave. With all the talk still going on about the duel, he was afraid Merle might find something else to be offended by on his behalf and then someone would get a real injury.

Eventually, the jokes grew so stale and the joke tellers wary of the glares Nuri gave them while pointing at Chid. The Caeli and the hopefuls wished Allen well and packed it in for the night. Alucier and Marqesita, wanting to be alone, left soon after. Two late nights in a row were too much for Chid and Nuri dragged him away. Even Gaddes had a place he needed to be. The infirmary emptied slowly but steadily until Allen, Eries and Celena were left alone.

Celena was quick to take advantage of the extra free space by roaming around the infirmary and checking out the medical supplies. Good judgment dictated that Allen should tell her to stop, but while his sister was occupied, he and Eries could talk.

"I overreacted, didn't I?" Eries asked.

"Everybody did. I don't think anyone noticed you in particular. Revius did a wonderful job of making everyone pay attention to him."

It was a nice side effect of Revius' relentless need to make light of everything. Eries wondered if it was a side effect and not the entire point of the comedy routine.

She chose to think the best of her friend. Whatever his intent, the result was the same. "Good, the last thing we need is the palace gossips starting something."

"Hmm," Allen chuckled, "I think they might have another princess and Caeli knight to talk about."

"What are you…?" Eries began, confused. She knew who he had to be talking about but the last she'd heard, Alucier and Marqesita had both given up.

"Didn't you see them? I only caught them out of the corner of my eye when Van and I started moving over to that corner of the roof, but they looked as if they were about to kiss."

"That's what you were paying attention to while you were supposed to be dueling? No wonder Van Fanel won."

"No one won," Allen muttered. He didn't care what others said about the duel's outcome but it riled his honor for Eries to doubt him, even if she was only teasing. "And I told you I only caught them out of the corner of my eye. You have to pay attention to your surroundings while fighting."

"Or else an errant vino bottle can get you."

Allen told his honor to settle down. Eries was clearly having a go at him and it was such an improvement over the panic he'd seen on her face earlier that he decided to endure whatever jests she threw at him. "Those vino bottles are a hazard of the battlefield. But I know what I saw and certainly you saw how close they were while they were down here and that they left together."

"Actually," Eries said, "I was watching another knight and didn't notice Alucier."

"What about Alucier?" Celena asked. The doctors had had the foresight to put most of their stock away so her tour of the infirmary was already over. She needed new things to excite her. "Are we talking about how he had his arm around Marqesita when he thought nobody was looking?"

"I'm sure he was only comforting her," Eries explained. Allen's story had piqued her curiosity but there was no reason to get Celena and her unpredictable mouth involved.

"She looked comforted all right."

Allen frowned at his sister despite knowing how futile it was. Celena was generous enough to pretend it had some effect though. "All I meant was that she looked like she was comfortable. I wasn't using any innuendo or anything."

"I wasn't aware that you knew any," Allen said suspiciously.

"Oh, please. I've spent more than five minutes around Revius. If I hadn't looked up innuendo in the dictionary, half the stuff he says wouldn't make any sense. Not that it makes too much sense, I mean."

It was a classic ditzy Celena explanation but Allen was still regarding her warily. Eries thought it was only his great faith in his sister that kept Allen from figuring out the truth. One could only turn a blind eye and deaf ear for so long though.

Celena was saved from making any other explanations by an unusual cavalry. Well past the time he should have turned in for the night, Aston entered the infirmary with Dryden pushing his wheelchair.

"Heard we missed some action tonight," Dryden said.

"So you came here to laugh about it?" Celena asked. Both Allen and Eries were thinking that too but Celena was the only one who could get away with saying it.

"You know it. Only so much fun can be had by zooming down the hall popping wheelies with the king's wheelchair."

Dryden began to demonstrate his technique only to have Aston shoo him away. "We've done no such thing," the king said. "I heard a commotion on the roof while he and Millerna were visiting and wanted to find out what was going on."

"It was really nothing," Eries said and tried to tell him what had happened.

It wasn't necessary. Aston had already gotten an earful on the way here. He wouldn't have bothered coming down except that one excerpt from the story had noticeably stood out. It seemed Eries' unusually emotional response hadn't gone unnoticed.

He wasn't going to discuss this with his son-in-law around and in a joking mood. He could do without Schezar's sister too. Jichia only knew what that girl would say. Aston tried getting rid of them but neither wanted to budge, Celena whining that she didn't want to leave her injured brother and Dryden saying he just didn't want to leave. Dryden had heard the same comments about Eries that the king had and guessed that was the only reason why Aston had insisted being here.

And Dryden wasn't going to miss that.

Aston had, in theory, the authority to order them both out. Neither budged even after this was pointed out. Dryden said he thought he knew what Aston wanted to discuss and it might be a good idea to have a neutral party there during said discussion. Celena offered no defense. She just stood there and said, 'nuh-uh'. King Aston might be the ruler of one of the great nations of Gaea but Celena Schezar was a sovereign land all of her own.

Allen couldn't get her to leave either so the age old solution of ignoring a problem until it went away came in effect. Aston spoke directly and quietly to Eries and Allen, paying Celena no mind even when she leaned in and asked if he could speak up.

"There was no small crowd at that duel tonight," Aston said. "And they were very eager to share what they saw. It isn't everyday, after all, that the typically aloof Princess Eries shows such emotion."

Eries felt her stomach churn. Her overreaction had cost them.

Allen regarded his king stoically. He'd lie if he had to but the fact that Aston had come here and was speaking to them personally gave him the tiniest glimmer of hope that they could work this out rationally. And he hadn't been imaging the softening attitude had he? He hoped fervently that he had not. He could tell Eries was not so optimistic by the way she shifted her weight and looked slightly above her father instead of at him – classic signs of nerves.

"I'm not going to waste time dropping hints and implications," Aston continued. "The truth is I've known something was going on between you two for some time. You're not as careful around the palace staff as you think you are and as I told you, Eries, I keep a tight watch on the palace gossip."

"So telling me that was your idea of a warning," Eries muttered.

Celena refused to acknowledge the tension and delicacy of the situation. "Wait, wait, wait! You two have been together for 'some time' and you didn't even tell me? Do you know how much energy I wasted trying to push you together?"

"Yeah," Dryden laughed, "that was seriously rude of you guys!"

Celena, miffed that while she'd gotten what she wanted, she'd also had been deprived of knowing she had it in the first place, had to direct her ire at someone. Dryden was a good target. "You know, you're not acting all that surprised. Did you know too?"

"I…uh…"

"Dryden!" Aston barked. "Were you keeping this from me?"

"Well…So were they!"

Eries flashed her dear brother-in-law a less than solicitous look. Aston saw it as well and found it misdirected.

"Don't blame him because you acted carelessly! I warned you about this when I told you my plans."

"Your plans," Eries repeated ominously.

While Dryden would be incredibly interested to hear the details of those plans, Aston would run Eries over with his wheelchair if he must to keep her quiet. She might have screwed up earlier this evening, but Aston knew how canny his daughter could be.

"That's neither here nor there," Aston said. It would never be anywhere where Dryden also happened to be. "The point is that you behaved inappropriately and it was noticed. It has been noticed. Now, I'll admit have been directing staff to keep a closer eye since I heard Meiden had assigned him to be your guard, but it was only a matter of time before someone picked up on it on their own. Tonight was that night."

"Jeez," Celena interjected. "You're acting like she was swooning and crying out for him. All she did was run over and see if he was all right. It was a little uncharacteristic of her but everybody on the roof was freaking out. Don't you think you're jumping to conclusions about how quickly everyone else will jump to conclusions?"

Her language was far too informal to be addressing a king. In the old days, talk such as that could get an impertinent girl thrown into the dungeon. Allen should have chastised her and then promised to chastise her some more. At the very least, he should have said her name in a disapproving tone.

He didn't. Again, Celena was saying all the things he wanted to say but couldn't because he didn't have the excuse of being a slightly addled teenage girl who could get away with it.

And then suddenly Allen understood what a brilliant – and completely fraudulent – excuse it was. If she managed to outtalk Aston though, he would never say a word to Celena. She would have earned that respect.

Eries had more room to argue than Allen and would have spoken up but she was wondering how far Celena could take this. The girl had an amazing ability to make you confused as to what you were even arguing about so she'd win by default. Eries was sure her father wouldn't fall victim to that strategy and would likely tell Celena to be quiet but that would provide a small delay for Eries to come up with an argument that didn't involve blackmailing him (or outlining the wisest course of action somewhat forcibly) over his secret plans.

Miraculously, Aston did get deeper into the debate. "I don't think you're aware of how swiftly and viciously palace gossip travels."

"How come it hasn't traveled farther than you then? You said you got your information from the palace staff."

"Palace staff that was under my strict orders to not say a thing!"

"You're the king…Isn't the palace staff always under your strict orders?"

"Oh, she's good," Dryden whistled under his breath. Celena beamed at the compliment. Eries and Allen both agreed though under the circumstances, they would save their praise for later.

Aston was getting frustrated. Clearly this girl that he'd dismissed as a loon had quicker wits than he'd ever dreamed. She had a point, a very good point.

Aston ran with it. "You're correct and it's my strict order that you shut your mouth while I'm speaking with my daughter."

Celena was at her limit. It was Eries' turn to fight. "And if there is gossip? It's nothing we haven't lived through before. Even when we were friends, I would hear the stray rumor about Allen and I if we'd danced a little too closer than usual at some ball. Then the very next day they'd be on to something else. They come and go and you of all people shouldn't care what others say."

"I care because this isn't proper."

"Since when have you been concerned with what is proper? Was it proper to put me on the council? Was it proper to give your friend, a merchant whose family only recently came into wealth, such a high position as well?"

"Those are business dealings! This is…" Aston grimaced, reluctant to use anything approaching romantic language to describe Eries' dalliances with Allen.

"Love," Eries supplied, using the very terminology her father had been trying to avoid. "It's love. The very same thing that kept you from remarrying after Mother's death despite not having a male heir. Many people thought that was improper but your love for her ran too deep."

"Don't compare what I had with your mother to this."

"But you understand how I feel!"

"Oh, I understand how _you_ feel just fine."

Allen could stay silent no longer. He had pledged to always be with Eries, he was going to be with her. "Forgive me, your majesty, for speaking out of turn but I believe you should know how I truly feel about Eries."

This was a bold move and Eries feared how it would end. She'd already used her best weapons though and all they had done was rile Aston. Besides, there were worst last words to hear than the love of your life telling all the ways in which he thinks you are incredible.

Allen began humbly. He knew what the king thought of him and he couldn't avoid that forever. "I know you believe Eries deserves better and I would agree. She is an amazing woman, thoughtful in both mind and heart. From the first that I met her, she has leant me her stalwart support, sacrificing much to solve problems mostly of my own making. She stood by me long after I had given her reason to walk away and then, even after I did manage to push her generous heart too far, was able to open it again to me when I needed her.

"I am not proud of the reputation you despise me for. But I believe I have changed much from the selfish youth that earned that reputation. I also believe I owe much of the change to your daughter. Without her, I would have become lost. And now that I have found her, no matter what you command of me, she will always be the center of my thoughts and hopes and love."

Eries and Celena both teared up at the outpouring of devotion. Dryden, standing behind Aston and thus safely out of sight, gave a soundless applause. The person to whom the speech was addressed remained unmoved, in either accepting the emotion behind it or dismissing it.

In that regard, the speech was a success. Aston himself was surprised to find Allen declaring his love for Eries had not induced nausea, a headache or intense eye rolling. He had a bit of a pang in his stomach but that was because he had missed his late night snack. He could blame that on Allen though, he supposed.

"You two aren't going to give this up, are you?" Aston grumbled.

The would-be lovers clasped their hands together and answered 'no' in unison.

Aston pointed a threatening finger at Allen. "I could exile you to some godforsaken corner of Asturia that makes that swamp look like the palace."

"I would endure if I knew Eries was waiting for me."

"Waiting for what?" Aston rocked back in his wheelchair causing it to slide back and bump into Dryden – and his answer.

Everyone in the room looked at the Prince Regent. Only Aston spoke. "Once you're king, you're not going to give a crap about this, are you?"

"Eh, I think striking down any exile orders might be construed as giving a crap."

Aston had figured this was coming. Expecting the inevitable was a different beast than accepting it though. Still, he had no trouble breathing, no sudden numbness anywhere indicating another stroke was incoming. He neither had an urge to yell, 'Try to reverse an execution order!' to Dryden. He wouldn't do that to Eries and, annoying as he was, Allen didn't deserve it either.

Aston might make an exception for Celena Schezar. She'd filled the void of Aston not damning her brother with blather about how wonderful this all was.

"Aren't you getting a little ahead of yourself, girl?" Aston snarled.

"Well, look at it this way. From what I understand, Eries waited all this time to be with Allen so now that he's not being an idiot – sorry, Allen but that's what Gaddes called you when he was telling me about this – she's going to be willing to wait a lot longer. So you really have two choices: be a jerk and keep them apart or just accept it. If you accept it, you can celebrate your daughter's happiness. If you act like a jerk, than the only celebrating going on will be Eries dancing on your grave because she'll be all bitter that you made her wait so long."

"Celena…" Allen said, finally giving her the well earned chiding, albeit gently. He agreed that those were the options but thought she could have been a bit more tasteful than mentioning his grave to a king who'd recently had a scare of being put into one.

Eries apologized on Celena's behalf. "I would never –"

"Oh, you might if I did make you wait too long," Aston conceded. "You get your stubbornness from me, so you and I both know how long I could have made it."

"Could have?" Eries repeated. Did that really mean what she thought it meant?

Aston muttered to himself how insane he must be before finally giving Eries what she wanted. "Could have but won't. Can't have a scandalous affair when the king's made it official and boring."

And no matter how crazy Aston had thought he was being or how sure he was that he would come to regret this, it all became worth it when Eries dropped Allen's hand to rush over and give her father the tightest, longest hug he could ever remember receiving from her.

"You have no idea what this means to me," Eries whispered to him between sobs.

It was rare thing for Eries to cry in front of others so for her joy to strip away the control and self-consciousness she guarded her emotions with gave Aston all he needed to know. The curmudgeon in him that had held Allen in the same regard as garbage all but faded, only managing a weak, "You better be sure he's worth it."

"I am," Eries said with absolute resoluteness. She showed Aston the watch she'd been given earlier and let Allen explain its significance.

One last time, Aston waited for some sign of doom to appear but even with Celena jumping up and down and clapping, none came. He wasn't crazy. He wouldn't regret this. He was right.

He still had one last thing to say. "Well then, I guess all that's left is to consult the lawyers on the prenuptial agreement. Take a week off, Schezar. You're going to need it." He wasn't joking in the slightest but Aston had a hearty laugh at Allen's startled expression. Not only had letting the bastard (Aston guessed he'd have to be upgrading that to former bastard) into the family failed to be as catastrophic as he'd thought, he might get some enjoyment out of it. Everyone groveled before a king, but a king _and_ a father in law was a special combination.

"He's kidding, right?" Celena asked.

No one was sure, including Dryden – whose greatest ordeal in preparing for the wedding had been getting fitted for his outfit. But then, the king liked him.

Aston liked him so much he felt completely comfortable in ordering Dryden to take him back to his room. The little cloud left by his threat of lawyers dissipated quickly once he was gone, leaving the Schezars and Eries to celebrate their victory.

If they could bring themselves to believe it had actually happened. Just as little as a year ago, Allen never would have dreamed that so much could go so right with his life, but here he was, his fiancé – and he could actually use that word now – standing beside him with his sister looking on.

He didn't know what to say. He could only grin at Eries, his normal raffish smile replaced by one filled with the confusion and joy he was feeling. She grinned back, making Eries think they must look like a pair of simpletons, but she didn't care.

She leaned over to kiss him. They would never have to hide that gesture again. Allen would never have to trail behind her or pay heed to call her by her title. They could dance as close and as often as they cared and they only thing anyone would say if what a lovely couple they made.

Some would always have complaints though. Celena, quite happy but also still ticked, gave Allen's bed a little kick. "You could have told me, you know."

"It's seems like there are some things you could have told me as well," Allen countered. "I wasn't aware that you had become so keen with your arguments."

"Um, well, I've had lots of improvements lately…"

Eries suggested that since she'd been caught, it was best for Celena to come clean entirely. An explanation for the act would be nice too.

"We're going to be sisters. Shouldn't you be taking my side?"

"Ask Millerna how that works," Eries answered. Inwardly, she was doing the same marveling Allen had done. _Another sister. A husband. Allen as that husband._

Celena could complain all she wanted. Aston could hire every person who had ever practiced law in Asturia to harass her and Allen. She could even take Meiden at his scheming best hatching another plan for world domination. At this moment, Eries had all that she wanted.

She didn't know what the future would bring. She remembered the tarot cards Hitomi Kanzaki had carried with her and knew that even if a beam of light should reappear and deliver the girl right in front of her, she wouldn't ask for a reading. She might follow her father's plan. She would probably modify it so Dryden would know full well her intentions as a counselor.

Everything was open to her. Love, family, politics – all intertwined and she wouldn't change it for the world.

Why trade for something you already have?

* * *

Author's Note: I came so, so, so very close to giving the unhappy ending for Alucier and Sita to balance the happy one Eries and Allen were always destined to get. Too fairytale-ish for everything to work out that neatly. That was the precept the creators of Escaflowne used when they sent Hitomi home so I should follow that, right? Then I thought, what the hell, let 'em be happy or at least have that chance. It still won't be easy but nothing in life worth doing…yada, yada, yada.

Next Up: 'One'. After over two and a half years and 300K words, it'll be over.


	36. Epilogue: One

Intrigues of a Princess

Epilogue: One

In the end, it was decided that the remainder of the summit would be held at Egzardia's capital. A few days before the two week delay would have been up messages arrived bearing both good and horrible news from that country. Everyone already knew of Tellot's death but most were stunned to hear that the untimely death of his first born son had been a shock the ailing king couldn't bear and he too had passed. It made sense to hide their dishonesty about the timing of the king's death this way. His death took on an all the more tragic tone by its cause. It also cemented the notion of Tellot being his son. If there were any lingering rumors still out there, they would be silenced forever.

At the bottom of the announcement was notice of Marqesita's coronation. She was to be crowned queen in a brief ceremony a day after the funerals.

Since everyone would be traveling to Egzardia to attend both events, it was judged prudent to simply finish summit business there. To Eries, it was almost a moot point. Her voting bloc remained strong, unified more than ever after the events of the first part of the summit. Their opponents were scattered. Ironically, Zaibach and its steadfast General Adelphus had more credibility than Basram and Cesario.

Eries was still happy to go. It wasn't only the political victory that waited that was enticing either. She wanted to be with her friend both on Marqesita's days of mourning and triumph, though according to Marqesita, Egzardian funerals weren't the somber affairs that Asturian funerals were. Her father and brother's lives were going to be celebrated. All that the two men had been would be glorified and remembered by their people forever.

Her main reason for wanting to leave was entirely personal. Her father had moved quickly, announcing his daughter's courtship by Allen Schezar to a stunned nobility after gathering them for a small dinner party. There had been a lot of gasping and slacked jawed staring. Meiden, Eries recalled, had just shaken his head. The rest of the dinner had passed in polite conversation with the nobles struggling to come up with compliments for the out of favor Schezars.

After the dinner, it had been another story. Gossip had started flying. The handmaidens that had served Eries for years were suddenly confused as to how to act around her. When Allen was with her, it was as if they'd forgotten even how to breathe. Apparently, the official coupling of the Ice Princess and the notorious Caeli was so strange no one knew how to take it.

Dryden and, rather surprisingly, Aston were enjoying themselves thoroughly. Dryden liked being labeled 'The Respectable One' for a change. Aston, while initially displeased, soon came to see all the chatter as proof that his decisions still moved the country. Besides, a lot of the initial gossip involved questioning Allen's reputation. Since he could no longer cast these aspersions, it was nice for others to pick up the slack.

It helped that Eries had promised to follow some of his advice. She would not rule from the shadows but she would speak with Dryden. The position Marqesita and Bennor had created to control Egzardia's parliament might find a suitable counterpart in Asturia's council.

That would surely create another round of gossip and Eries was tired enough from the first. Going to Egzardia would be a welcome respite and, as their previous trip there had been one of Eries' fondest memories, it was a fitting first place to visit with Allen as an official couple.

She had some regrets in leaving. Celena was not happy to find out she was not part of the travel plans. Eries tried to spin it into something positive. For Allen to let her stay at home alone meant he must trust her. Celena hadn't fallen for it. Having Aelia and Gaddes around her at all time hardly constituted being alone.

And she wanted to travel! The Schezar estate was nice but there was a big world out there that was nice too. She was Leon Schezar's daughter after all.

They'd made a compromise. Millerna selflessly had offered to let Celena spend time at the palace with her and Dryden. Dryden had traveled extensively. He was full of stories and would be able to keep Celena occupied, perhaps show off (or unintentionally donate) a souvenir or two. Millerna insisted she was thrilled to do this; it's what sisters were for. As for Dryden, she claimed he'd be thrilled once she told him about, approximately five minutes before Celena was to visit.

Eries smiled at remembering how casually Millerna had joked about her husband. The two were spending more time together since the summit's recess. Dryden was so loathe to give up the pleasure of his wife's company, he'd passed on resuming his seat at the summit. While Eries was away, he and Millerna would be planning those trips he'd tempted her with at the party at Allen's.

That didn't mean she'd be traveling alone with Allen. Aston was feeling sufficiently recovered to make the trip to Egzardia with her. He thought it important to show respects to a fellow king. He also wanted to show the world he wasn't anywhere near being in the same condition. A short leviship flight was hardly solid evidence but according to him, not putting in an appearance would have been all the proof anyone needed that he was bedridden.

Eries almost had argued he was exaggerating but she'd learned not to doubt her father's knowledge of the ways of gossip. She wouldn't begrudge him a chance to get out and show off either.

There was one more set to attend. The Caeli tournament had been scheduled to resume after the royal entourage returned from Egzardia. Lord Ramkin would not officially retire until it had concluded with the introduction a new Caeli so as to keep the number at twelve. This left his successor free to make the trip. Of course, Alucier had been the head of security for the summit. It only made sense for him to be part of the guard for the king and princess.

Even if Lord Ramkin had turned his request down, Alucier would have found someway to attend Marqesita's coronation. He would have dyed Revius' hair, shoved a pair of glasses on his face and forced him to impersonate him if he had to.

Fortunately, no such extremes were necessary. He was welcomed aboard the leviship set for Egzardia as warmly as the other passengers. Revius was kind enough to send him, making loud whopping noises as he wished for Alucier to have loads of fun celebrating the coronation. The other passengers pretended to ignore him. Aston listened, comforted by the fact that there were definitely worse Caeli for his daughter to become involved with.

0-0-0-0

They arrived in Egzardia with little fanfare. Too many other preparations were going on to spare expense for lavish welcomes. A few Parliament members (none of whose names triggered any memory for Eries of the lists Marqesita had made of potential suspects) had made it out to the leviship port to greet them and the carriage ride into the palace took them through streets where Egzardia's flag and banners of the countries colors streamed down. It suited the Astons fine. Eries had never cared for formal greetings in the first place and her father preferred to save his energy for necessary appearances.

They settled quickly into the suite of rooms they'd been assigned, Eries and Aston each with their own room while Allen and Alucier had to share and the few servants that had come with them lodged in another. The weather was warmer here than in Asturia allowing them to take advantage of the open nature of Egzardia's architecture even this late in the season. Exterior walls were hardly walls at all, more like banks of large windows that opened out onto a massive balcony that ran the length of the palace. It didn't allow for much privacy, but when you enjoyed the company of your neighbors, privacy wasn't an issue.

The Freidian delegation had arrived before them. Chid was already out on the balcony with Nuri and Kaja watching the sun set when Eries took a quick peak out. He spotted her instantly and insisted she come join him. They were planning on taking their dinner out here. She told him she would see if any of her party would like to join her first. Chid was fine with that. Having more family and friends with him would be worth the wait.

The hesitance Aston had had about seeing Chid was entirely gone. He claimed he was going because it was easier to go out to the balcony rather than navigate the halls and stairways of the Egzardian palace with his wheelchair. True enough, but it would have been easier still to take dinner in his own room. Aston didn't wait for Eries to push him out too. He wheeled himself out without the benefit of any buffer between him and his grandson.

Alucier couldn't go. While the Egzardian royals seemed to be preoccupied, Marqesita had taken the time to write a quick note to Alucier asking him to join her instead.

"I technically did get this invitation first," he said.

"As if you need an excuse to oblige Sita."

He smiled. He didn't. "This is crazy though, isn't it? Expecting it to work?"

"Maybe," his temporary roommate said. Allen then moved to stand by Eries and wrap his arm around her waist. "But crazy things seem to be happening lately."

"The entire trip here," Alucier mused, "and Aston hardly glared at you at all. Revius thinks you're slipping something into his medication but I'm choosing to think if you two idiots can fumble your way towards each other, anybody can."

"Idiots?"

"I think he means me from all the years I was oblivious to how I felt about you."

"No," Alucier said slowly, shaking his head. "I meant the both of you. You weren't aware of Eries' broody, love struck side, but as the person who bore the brunt of it, trust me, idiot is not an incorrect label."

"And to think I was going to wish you well," Eries sniffed. She did anyway, though the pat on his back for luck had more punch to it than usual.

"Do you really believe that it will work out between them as it is?" Allen asked after Alucier left.

Eries was surprised by this bit of private pessimism. He was the one who'd used them as an example a minute ago. "It'll certainly be difficult, but I wouldn't call it hopeless."

"No, I wouldn't either but one in one country the other in another…The more it does work, the harder it will be to stay apart."

Eries fingered the silver chain around her neck and held the watch piece out. "Forgetting the message of your gift already?"

"No, never." To prove it he held her even closer. "And I suppose you're right. You two are similar. You both gave up so much: you the crown, Sita the line of succession. I should have more faith that you'll have similar fates in love."

Eries couldn't help but laugh. "I didn't give up that much. If everything goes according to plans, I'll have a larger influence as Dryden's right hand then I would have had as a nobleman's wife. And as for Sita, why do you think she's allowing Bennor's position to be as strong as it is?"

Allen thought for a moment, putting himself in the mindset of his politically canny love. "So when one of her children is appointed to the post, it'll be as if she hadn't given up on them inheriting the crown?"

"You're learning," Eries declared. As a reward, she planted a light kiss on his cheek. Nothing too heavy, they were expected out on the balcony any second now.

Aston was already with Chid. He was chatting more with Kaja than his grandson but he'd turn and ask Chid a question or two to include him in the conversation. It was probably the closest the two had been since Marlene's funeral. Eries hoped it wouldn't take more large events like a death in the family or a world summit to maintain that nearness. The Astons and Freids were close family. She wanted them to act like it.

Eries had all the more reason to hope for it now. Allen could never be a father to Chid, certainly not publicly, but he'd be able to fill the role of favorite uncle. It would almost be expected of him what with Chid's fondness for the Knights Caeli in general and Allen's heroics in particular.

Allen had never said anything of this when they'd discussed their future but as she watched him gazing out onto the balcony, she knew it was on his mind.

"Think how happy he'll be to have a new 'uncle'," she said tenderly.

"It's more than I ever had a right to hope for."

"We all have the right to hope to be with the ones we love."

Allen didn't respond verbally. He only stared at Eries intently, a warm but serious look in his eyes. "There was a time I would have argued with you on that – when I wanted to argue with the whole world about how unfair fate could be."

"Oh, I remember. There were times when you did argue, in fact."

"I really don't know how you put up with me."

"I had my hopes, too. And when you weren't brooding, you were quite the charmer."

He chuckled softly. "I always thought you were quite charming yourself. I never understood the nicknames others gave you. An Ice Princess who was so gentle and warm, stronger than steel when she needed to be then softer than down the next moment. Without that…I meant what I said to your father, you know."

"I know…And I don't think you give yourself enough credit."

"I know I never gave you all the credit all you deserve. I wasted so much time that I could have been with you. So from now on, I will not waste another second."

"Even if it means going through those ludicrously long pre-marriage contracts Father's lawyers have been drafting?" she joked.

"Especially so, because you know I'll never be able to understand a word of them without you by my side translating it into something halfway intelligible."

"Oh, Allen," she sighed, recalling the legal help she'd given him with his family's estate. It hadn't been the start of their friendship but it had sealed the deal. "I could almost get the impression you keep me around because you need me for the legal counsel."

"I need you for that. I want you for everything else."

If not for her father and nephew waiting some twenty feet away, she might have grabbed Allen's hand and dragged him towards the nearest priest. But out there they were and she would have to wait. It wouldn't be a problem. She'd waited for years. A few more months of courtship and wedding preparations wouldn't be anything to her.

Because it wasn't just hope that she had, it was the certainty of Allen's hand in hers. It was the certainty of the heartspoken vows they had already made.

It was the certainty of the happiness in her father's voice when he informed Chid that Eries and Allen were courting and would soon announce their engagement, the certainty of the sheer joy in that precious boy's face as he leapt up to hug his aunt in congratulations.

So she would have to wait a little longer. Never again though would she ever have to wait alone.

* * *

Author's Notes: Stick a fork in it, after almost three years it's actually done. If I'd had a little more foresight, I would have posted it on August 26th, the seventh anniversary of 'The Secret Life of a Girl's first post date. Yeah, it really has been that long.

Deep thanks to all who have followed this story and the others in the trilogy. Collectively, y'all have been a remarkably supportive and patient group. I don't know if I would have come this far without you.


End file.
